Siriusly Snape
by LadyofDragons089
Summary: What if Severus and Sirius weren't the enemies we all thought them to be? What if they could unite under a single cause? What could be more important than their best friends' only child?
1. Strange Allies

Chapter One- Strange Allies

Sirius Black had done some stupid things in his life. Calling Minerva McGonagall 'Minnie' at the tender age of twelve. Trying to actually take three different girls to the Christmas Ball his fifth year. Attempting to convince Lily Evans that she had really loved him instead of James in Sixth year.

Really, the list went on and on.

Nevertheless, he was about to do one of the stupidest things of his life. Not only was the whole idea stupid- not to mention immoral and illegal- the catalyst for said idea was also an extremely stupid idea.

Sirius Black, best friend of James Potter and Remus Lupin, the white sheep of the Black family, and former Azkaban prisoner for two and a half years, was standing at the door of Severus Snape's classroom.

He had told Dumbledore that he just wanted to look around the old place.

He had just been released from Azkaban a little over two weeks ago, after a delightful man named Arthur Weasley had accidently untransfigured Peter Pettigrew from the rat form he had been hiding in to masquerade as one of Mr. Weasley's sons' pet.

It was partially true. He did want to look around Hogwarts. He loved this place. It was the first real home he had had- the house he lived in with his parents had never been home- and it was only some of the memories of this place that had kept him sane. He was eager to look around and make sure he hadn't imagined the place.

But that wasn't the only reason. Hogwarts memories had been the large majority of his memories, but the rest had been filled with memories of his godson. Harry.

The first thing he had done after being freed with a full pardon and a large settlement- after taking a loooong shower- was go search for Harry.

He had known it must have been tough for Harry. The boy was only one and ½ when it had all happened and he was thrown in with strangers. James and Lily had been killed, Peter betrayed them, he was locked up and Remus was a werewolf. None of them could now take care of the boy, which Sirius had known immediately would result in him being placed with the only family he had left. Lily's disgusting Muggle sister.

Petunia was even worse than he had remembered though. Not only was she now married to a loud and obnoxious Muggle the size of a large whale, she had procreated, creating a baby whale.

He had tried to be cool and reasonable, as Professor Dumbledore had asked him to. Truthfully, the Headmaster hadn't even wanted to let Sirius see Harry- some gulf about wanting a normal life for Harry- but Sirius would not be swayed. He had legal rights to the boy and would not be denied.

Dumbledore hadn't stopped him and he was going to be damned if he let Petunia Dursley stop him. So when she refused to let him in her house to see Harry, he had taken an invisibility potion and snuck in the house.

What he had seen had not pleased him. The family was in the kitchen, eating food while Harry sat on floor while his Uncle yelled at him about being a freak. When they were done, the uncle had lifted Harry off the ground by an arm and had thrown him into the cupboard under the stairs before locking it.

Harry was thin and had bruises on his arms, probably from other displays such as that.

No way in hell was Sirius going to stand for that.

He had gone at once to Dumbledore, but the annoying old man wouldn't even let him explain.

"Now Sirius," he had said, in that annoyingly placating tone. "We all knew that the first thing you would want to do was take Harry away. But really, do you think you're ready to handle a child on your own? And is it really fair to ask him to leave the only family he remembers? No, Sirius, my boy, it is much better to let him stay with his aunt's family."

And that was it. Dumbledore wouldn't listen to reason.

Which brought him back here.

Sirius jumped, torn from his thoughts as the door in front of him suddenly opened. Severus Snape emerged, in his usual all-black ensemble, complete with greasy hair.

"Black." Severus said, pulling his wand immediately. "What are you doing here?"

Awkward...

"I'm not sure yet." Sirius confessed, deliberately holding up his empty hands so as not to provoke the other man. "But I would like to talk to you when you have a moment."

Severus looked closely at the other man, but for once didn't see a sparkle of mischief in Sirius's face. "I am going to get a special berry from the Forbidden forest. It has to be plucked just before it goes into the potion that I am working on. You have five minutes to decide what you are doing before I get back. Touch nothing in my classroom."

With that, the dark man swept away.

He had left the classroom open, something that surprised Sirius, but he didn't question it. He merely entered the room, looking around.

It was a droll, dark place which was exactly the kind of place he had always imagined Snape would end up. But he wasn't focused on his surroundings, so much as musing what to do next.

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to steal Harry away from the Dursley's. But he respected Dumbledore enough to wonder if he was making a rational argument. Yes, some parents and guardians were more harsh than others, he knew that better than any. But _surely_ he was making the right argument here. One didn't lock a kid in a cupboard after eating in front of him.

Still, if that part of his reasoning was sound, was this part? He had gone to Remus, but that conversation had gone exactly as he had imagined. "Don't do anything illegal, Padfoot," was Remus's advice, along with, "Dumbledore knows best."

Old Moony had become even more of a do-gooder than before. Sirius would have to change that, to remind Remus of his Marauder roots. But not right now.

And so, he was left with Snape. He and Snape hated each other, sure. It was true, and everyone knew it. He and Snape were fine with being enemies and neither of them really ever had any intentions of changing the status quo.

But as surely as he knew Snape and he were mortal enemies, he also knew one other fact about Snape: Snape didn't lie.

Okay, so it wasn't like he _never_ lied. He had successfully played the Death Eaters for years and was still on good terms with quite a few of them.

But Snape didn't pull punches. If Snape thought the idea was insane, he'd tell Sirius that- gleefully. He would outline exactly why he thought the idea was stupid, as well as what ideas in particular were stupid. Then, Sirius would just have to fix those problems and he'd be set.

He smiled, satisfied with his reasoning, and a voice in front of him asked, "So are you done thinking now?"

He jumped, finally seeing Snape. "Ah, Snape. You're back."

"As brilliant as ever, I see." Severus mocked, looking down at the three different potions he was currently working on. He stirred the middle cauldron carefully five times counter-clockwise and then looked back up at his childhood nemesis. "So, you have ten minutes. Speak."

"Okay." Sirius said at once. If Snape had given him ten minutes, it meant he really only had about eight, if the two of them didn't get in a fight. He had to get this all out before either of those options- both very possible- happened. "Let's see."

How best to explain this to Snape?

"Look at it like this." He said, watching the other man closely as they both sat at desks apart from each other. "Lily was your best friend."

"I do not want you to talk about Lily and me." Severus interrupted, crossing his arms. This was probably a bad idea. Black had just got out of Azkaban, he himself had spent a little over four months in Azkaban and had no wish to return. The two of them had never lasted long together without a fight, which always had the potential to put at least one of them back in Azkaban.

"I know you don't, but it has a little bit to do with it." Sirius said, the same thoughts running through his own mind. "It isn't to tease. But I know you and her were always best friends- even after fifth year, when everyone thought she hated you because of what you called her."

"Wait." Severus held up a hand to stop Black again. "You knew? How did you know?"

"I'm not as stupid as you think I am, Snape." Sirius snapped, annoyed. "You two hung out together in abandoned classrooms- you didn't ever think that someone would come across you?"

"If you had come across us, you would have said something before this." Severus said, hiding his amazement. Maybe the other wasn't quite as stupid as he had thought- not that that meant much.

A rueful look came over Sirius's face and he shook his head. "You being Lily's friend and all, I don't think you ran into many occasions where she hexed you. Believe me, there were many times I didn't start with you or Lily simply to avoid her wand. I did come across you two once in Seventh year. When I confronted Lily, she threatened to hex my bits off, so I never did anything about it."

Both men winced at the threat. Neither doubted the redhead could have done it.

"But my point is, Lily was your best friend. You loved her." Sirius said, holding up a hand to ward off another interruption. "I know, you've said so for years; you only loved her as a friend. And though I'm still not entirely convinced about that, I'm accepting it for today."

"You are?" Severus said suspiciously. "Why?"

"You loved her as a best friend." Sirius repeated, ignoring the question. He was getting there! If the man would just be _patient._ "Which means you'd have done anything to save her the littlest bit of harm. And now that she's gone, wouldn't you do anything to help her if you could?"

"Yes." Severus said hesitantly. Was Black trying to trick him into doing something in the name of Lily? "Probably."

It was, after all, the truth. He had loved her, as a friend. Never as anything more, despite what Potter and his bunch had thought, but that was still enough.

"So," Sirius went on, happy with Snape's answer, "If you knew she'd want something done now, even though she's dead, would you do it? Even if it went into possible illegal grounds?"

"Black." Severus said, gritting his teeth. Honestly, the man was horrible with explanations. "What are you getting at?"

"Wouldn't you?" Sirius pressed. "No matter what?"

"Yes." Severus said, rolling his eyes. He knew Black well enough to know he'd get no explanations until the other man was well and ready. "I would. Even if it was illegal, if I thought it really meant something to Lily. Now what are you talking about?"

Sirius jumped up gleefully. "So I'm not crazy."

"Well, that's up for debate." Severus said snippily. "Explain. Now."

"Okay." Sirius said, knowing he owed the other. "James is my best friend."

"Was your best friend." Severus corrected, sighing.

"Right, right—is, was, whatever." Sirius said, waving the grammar away. "And if that situation applies to your best friend, it should apply to my best friend too, right? I have to save James's son. James would want me to."

Satisfied, he turned to leave. Right before he got to the door, it slammed shut, locking loudly. He looked back, confused, only to see Snape's wand out.

"That is nowhere near enough explanation." Severus said, pocketing his wand. "Continue. What do mean? What's wrong with Harry? What's wrong with Lily's son?"

"Lily's son?" Sirius repeated.

"Yes." Severus rolled his eyes at Sirius's confused expression. "James _and Lily_ had a son. They named it Harry."

"Snape, I have to go get him." Sirius said, waving the explanation away again. "It's my duty. His father was my best friend and I'm his godfather!"

"Focus, Black." Severus snapped, trying to keep from both panicking or killing the other man. "What is wrong with Harry?"

Sirius paced back and forth in front of the locked door. "Snape, I've tried everything else. I went to Dumbledore, I went to Remus. They both told me I was overreacting. And I know I do that sometimes but I'm _not_ this time."

Angry, Severus stormed to the back of the room and forced Sirius to stop his inane pacing. "You're not overreacting about what?"

"Harry can't stay there, Snape. Those Muggles are no good for him." Sirius said, turning to the other man.

"Mr. and Mrs. Evans aren't good for their grandson?" Severus said, shocked. "What in Merlin's name are you talking about? They're the nicest Muggles I ever met."

Sirius was just as shocked as Severus. "Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about? Mr. and Mrs. Who?"

"Evans. Lily's parents?" Severus repeated. "What do you think is so terribly wrong with a set of grandparents raising their grandson? That they're Muggle? Really, Black, I expected better of you. That's such a Slytherin thing to say."

"Snape, have you really been down here for the whole three years you worked here?" Sirius shot right back. "Harry is not with his grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. Evans died maybe a year or so before Harry was born."

That stopped Snape cold. "What?" He said, unbelieving. Yes, it was true, a large majority of the wizarding world up to and including Albus Dumbledore thought he and Lily Evans remained enemies after their fifth year, but surely he would have heard...

Why had Lily never told him? Oh wait... He quickly did the math. That would have been right around when he was imprisoned, right before he had convinced Voldemort to let him turn 'traitor'.

"So, Harry is with..." He trailed off as the full impact of what Sirius was saying hit him.

"Ah, you've met Petunia then." Sirius said, recognizing the look of disgust blended with horror that Snape was wearing. "Well she's as unpleasant as ever and now has an equally disgusting husband and child. And they're horrible for Harry." He added, looking forlornly at the door.

Severus sat down on the nearest stool, thoughts running wildly. Harry, little Harry, the boy who shared Lily's eyes, was living with that vile and wretched woman. A woman who hated magic. Harry had already been showing signs of magic when he was just three months old.

Sirius watched Snape closely when he sat down and stopped moving, recognizing quickly the look Severus wore when he was lost in thought. Many times during their Hogwarts career Sirius would try to taunt Snape, but whenever he was lost in thought, nothing got through.

As Sirius knew he wasn't getting out of that door without Snape unwarding it, he wandered up to the potions Snape was brewing. Their ten minutes was just about up, which meant the simmering time for the potions was just about up. If Snape got lost in thought, the potions might be ruined.

Sirius might not be as good at Potions as Snape was, but he had been fourth in their class on that particular subject. He looked quickly at the instructions and tended to the Potions carefully for the next few minutes until Snape looked up.

"What are you doing, Black?" Severus demanded, jumping to his feet. Damn, he had forgotten his potions.

"I can read, Snape, calm down. I didn't harm anything. Better add newt's eyes." Sirius said calmly, pointing to the first cauldron as it started to turn blue.

"I know how to make Potions." Severus snapped, quickly adding the eyes. He couldn't hold back a sigh of relief as the potion turned a bright silver. "Thank you." He added grudgingly.

"Sure." Sirius said easily, sitting on the table in front of Snape's. "I'm sorry to have shocked you." He apologized. "I never thought of it that way, but Harry was as important to Lily as to James. I guess that would have been a bit of a surprise to you."

Severus just grunted agreement, concentrating on the Potions and deliberately not looking at Sirius.

Sirius wasn't fooled though. "I did shock you, didn't I?" He asked. "You thought Harry was with his grandparents. That would have been alright. But even you know that Harry can't stay with Petunia. Her husband hates magic as much as she does. Harry has bruises over him from that bastard."

That was too much for Severus. "He has what!" He shouted angrily. "Some Muggle thought he could touch Harry?"

A few more pieces in the puzzle that was Severus Snape clicked in Sirius's mind. "You're the one Lily used to go out with all the time. Those were the only times she'd let us watch Harry and only if me, James and Remus were there. And sometimes she wouldn't even let us watch him then if she thought we were being too irresponsible. And sometimes she would get sick of James and kick him out for the day or the weekend. He never tried to find her or protest with her and we always wondered why. It was because of you, wasn't it? He didn't want to be with you and at the same time wanted Lily to be able to spend time with her best friend."

He only grinned when Severus's grip on the stirring rod tightened.

"I'm right, aren't I?" he said, amazed. "That is unbelievable. We thought Lily just threatened to hex James, not that she was with you."

Knowing that he was beaten, Severus just sighed. It wasn't exactly like it was necessary to keep it a secret anymore. Then he smirked. "Actually, Lily did threaten to hex him." He said. "The first time she convinced me to drop by her house to meet her son, damned if James didn't walk in while I was holding Harry. He flipped, accusing her of dating me on the side while being married to him, an accusation she did not take well."

Sirius winced, knowing exactly how Lily would have taken that.

"Yes." Severus agreed. "By the time she was finished that day, I don't think he ever said anything about it again. And he never showed up again when I did...except for one other time." He admitted. "But she said that he hung out with his best friends every day and she was going to do the same thing so he had better damn well accept it."

One more mystery clicked into place as well. "What did Harry call you?" He asked, trying to hold back a grin.

He wasn't successful, as Severus saw it immediately. Oh no, Severus thought, trying to hold back a moan. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on," Sirius teased, grinning widely. "You were over there at least three times a week. Surely he must have wanted to know who you are."

"What are you trying to get at, Black?" Severus demanded, thinking furiously. Both he and Lily had warned the boy not to talk about Severus's visits. Well...as much as a person could warn a one-year-old.

Damn.

"I know." Sirius said. "He called you 'Uncle', didn't he? I was chatting with Harry one day and he said he had three uncles. I always thought that was weird, because he refused to call Peter 'Uncle'. He knew that bastard was a rat before we did. I tried to question him and he named me and Moony, but for the third uncle, all he'd say was Evie (Ev-ee). I thought that meant Evelyn Lovegood, Xeno's wife, but it was you wasn't it?"

"Why would he call a woman Uncle?" Severus asked, rolling his eyes.

"Because he didn't know what an aunt was, of course. Idiot." Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "But that was you, wasn't it? Don't deny it, Uncle Sevie."

Severus threw the stirring rod at Sirius. "Shut up, Uncle Paddy."

That stopped Sirius's laughter, even as he ducked the rod. "Not funny, Snape." He said, pouting.

"On the contrary, I found it quite amusing." Severus said, summoning the rod back with a flick of his wrist. "Now, onto more important matters. What did you mean when you said Harry had bruises? Petunia's husband dared hit Lily's son?"

Knowing he had an ally, Sirius didn't hesitate. "Yes, Snape, he did. And I watched him throw Harry into a cupboard and lock it. And I tried to explain this to Dumbledore and he didn't say a word. And Remus-"

"Wait, wait." Severus forced himself to be rational. "Even if Dumbledore didn't let you explain, surely Lupin would have. He disapproves of this?"

Sirius shifted uneasily. "I couldn't tell Remus what had really happened. You know how werewolves get about any member of their pack. Harry was the only baby in ours. If he thought for one minute that Harry was in trouble..." He trailed off uneasily.

"Ah, right." Severus said, repressing a shudder. "The wolf would have been released and those Muggles would be dead."

"Yeah." Sirius agreed uneasily. "And even though that sounds appealing, Harry doesn't need to see that and Remus doesn't need that guilt. And as Remus is in such a do-gooder mood right now, I knew he'd turn me in to Dumbledore immediately. The Headmaster refuses to hear anything on the subject of Harry Potter, he's being completely unreasonable. So I'm just going to do it myself. Remus will support me after it's done and I really don't think anything is ever going to convince Dumbledore to go to that place before Harry turns eleven."

"What do you plan to do about it?" Severus asked hesitantly. Black's plans were just like him- larger than life and totally unreasonable.

"Go kidnap Harry and turn his Muggle family into spiders that I can squash under my boots." Sirius said, grinning evilly.

"Black, be serious for once in your life." Severus said, rolling his eyes. Although...he did have to admit, it was one of Black's soundest ideas ever.

"I'm always Sirius, Snape." Black said, laughing.

"Ugh." Severus said, disgusted. Damn, he'd fallen right into the joke that Black had never given up on.

Sirius laughed. "I love that joke." He said. "But, _seriously_, I'm taking Harry away from those Muggles. I have the right to do so, as I am his godfather. I would love to do something to those Muggles as well, but unfortunately... I fear Azkaban too much to do so. I will make sure something happens to them though, before I die. I just needed to make sure I wasn't being completely irrational first."

"So you came to me?" Severus wasn't sure what to think of that.

"Hey, who better to tell me if I'm being irrational." Sirius said, grinning. "So, now that we know, will you let me out?"

"No, I won't let you out. Is that honestly your whole plan or just the outline?" Severus asked.

"Well, that's about it." Sirius admitted, crossing his arms. "What's wrong with it?"

"Do you intend to go in looking like yourself?" Severus asked. "For one thing. If Dumbledore's conscience does kick in and he goes to them and they describe a crazy, black-haired man with grey eyes, how long do you think it'll take Dumbledore to make the connection?"

"Well...So I disguise myself." Sirius said, shrugging. "I can do that."

"And what about the long term?" Severus went on ruthlessly. "Surely people are going to realize sooner or later that you have a child with you. Everyone knows Dumbledore wants Harry Potter safely hidden with his Muggle relatives. Every Death Eater still out there will come after him if he's seen in your possession."

"Lots of Purebloods keep their children segregated until they leave for Hogwarts." Sirius said, after thinking for a minute. "It wouldn't really be so strange for me to claim an illegitimate son, if I have to. And my fireplace is already password protected, after I got out of Azkaban. I have to actually go let the person through. I _am_ a Black, Snape. We were raised on paranoia. I know how to hide things."

"And what are you going to do when Harry is eleven?" Severus asked. "What if Dumbledore decides to send someone?"

"Then I am in trouble." Sirius admitted. "But I have seven years to worry about that. And I don't think that will happen- Dumbledore is determined that Harry be treated like a normal student. As long as I send back the reply letter, we ought to be fine. And by then Harry will be old enough to decide what he wants to do. He can go as Harry Potter or I can adopt him legally and he can go as Harry Black—whatever he wants. But he's not staying with those Muggles and that's that."

Severus had to admit, the idiot mutt's plan was sound for a change. Except for one last detail. "And when do you plan to go after the boy?"

"Right now." Sirius said enthusiastically. "As there isn't anything wrong with the plan. Why waste time?"

"Ah, I see." Severus turned back to his three potions. The third one was just finished. He tossed in a bezoar to complete the first potion and added in pixie dust into the second. The second now needed to simmer for the next five hours, while the other two were finished. He cut the fire on the two finished potions, ignoring Sirius as he began to whine, and cast a Stasis spell on the middle cauldron.

"Snaaape. Let me out. I wanna go get Harry!" Sirius moaned, pacing back and forth in the room.

"Dammit, Black, will you just hold on. I'm not about to let you go off alone and potentially put Lily's son in danger, alright? So let me bottle up these potions and we can be on our way. Try, for just once, to act your age."

He heard no response. Satisfied, he began bottling the first potion. He worked in silence for awhile before he heard a small clink beside him. He looked over and damned if Black wasn't bottling his Pepper-Up.

"I told you not to touch my potions." Severus said, eyes narrowing.

Sirius just shrugged, carefully bottling. "This way it goes faster," he said, ignoring the other man's glare. It hadn't been effective since their Third Year. "I won't hurt your precious potion- I fear Madame Pomphrey too much."

Well...that was true. Between the two of them, only Remus Lupin might have spent more time in the infirmary. But while Lycanthropy might be a legitimate cause, two boys hell-bent on killing each other was not. Neither of the dark-haired men would ever be friends with the nurse at Hogwarts.


	2. The Rescue

Chapter Two- The Rescue 

The two quickly finished bottling potions and left the dungeons. As it was only the last week in June, most of the teachers were gone for the summer, not due to report back until August, so they made it out of the castle unnoticed.

That was when their luck changed. They hesitated on the courtyards of the castle, seeing Professor Dumbledore down by the lake casually conversing with a mer there. They had two options at that point, and both involved going where he could see them. To their left, which would take them down into Hogsmeade, damned if Filius Flitwick wasn't on his way back to the castle.

While during the first few years at Hogwarts, their rivalry had gone almost unnoticed by everyone up to and including Sirius's best friends, that hadn't lasted long. Before they graduated, their rivalry had even gotten to the point where James Potter and Remus Lupin weren't comfortable with it anymore.

Everyone knew about their hatred for each other and, once they had reached Sixth Year, everyone went out of their way to make sure the two weren't alone together.

Merlin only knew what Flitwick was thinking now. And what Dumbledore would think when he saw them.

"The forest." Sirius said, gesturing, as Severus stood staring at the Charms Professor. "If we can get around the lake, when Dumbledore sees us, it'll be too late for him to stop us."

Severus hurried after Sirius, as he took off in the route he had just suggested. "You know what they're thinking, right?"

Sirius laughed. "Yep. But, you've got to admit- it is the perfect cover. Now if you want to stay for a few days and see Harry is alright for yourself, you can. They all know when we go off like this, not to expect us back for a few days."

"I suppose that's true." Severus admitted. "But there is no reason for me to stay with Harry. I'm sure the boy doesn't remember any of us, so it would do me absolutely no good to reintroduce myself into his life. While I have the free time though..."

He trailed off, wondering what he could do. There was that nearly-mythical plant growing in Athens that he had just about located before the start of the last school year. Or, he could head over to China, where another potions master was said to have created a better lycantrophy potion than his modification. Or even...

Oh no.

"Severus? Sirius?"

The Headmaster had spotted them. The two men looked at each other, darting the last few yards into the Forbidden Forest.

"Boys! Come back here at once!" Dumbledore sounded a lot closer than the other side of the lake, where he had just been a few seconds ago, but it was already too late. Sirius and Severus knew this part of the forest better than anyone.

"Hurry now." Severus said, as he was forced to walk behind Sirius on the trail that was invisible to everyone but the two of them. "You know he'll be in after us."

"For what?" Sirius asked, laughing, even as he picked up his speed. "We're both adults now...if we want to duel to the death, that's our business."

What had become more worrisome- the very first time their hatred for each other had become apparent to the teachers at large- was in fourth year, when the two decided for the first time to duel to the death. No seconds, no off-limit spells besides the Unforgivables, no time-limit.

They had disappeared into the forest, just as they were now. They had dueled fiercely, both being badly injured. They were found because of the sparks of light their wands had given off with each spell.

That first duel, they were found a mere few hours after they had disappeared. For their fun, they had each spent a week in the hospital and three months in detentions with the Headmaster himself.

None of which had stopped them. They had found a new hideout in the woods, and had quickly learned a spell to block their spell-light from being seen in the sky above them.

Three times in their fifth year, six times in their sixth year and a whopping ten times in their Seventh year, the two had decided to hold a duel. Each time they had been caught by the Headmaster, each time they had been sent to the hospital and each time they had had to go to detentions with him.

After catching them for the second time Seventh Year, the Headmaster had taken the rest of their free time for the year—assigning them detentions with him for the rest of the year. That hadn't stopped them, but by then they were no longer his students.

What would he do if he caught them now?

"What are you going to tell him?" Sirius asked, ducking under a low tree as he doggedly followed the intricate trail they had memorized. "He's going to wonder."

"You had better watch yourself. You know he'll be coming to visit you and give you a lecture." Severus shot back. "I, myself, will simply blame it on you. You were back to your old and obnoxious self and were long overdue."

"Ha." Sirius barked out laughter. "He has no sway over me any longer. I'm free, I've graduated and I'm the Black head of family. He can't even get into my manor if I don't let him- powerful though he is, even Albus Dumbledore can't match the brute strength of generations upon generations of paranoid, power-hungry Blacks. I'll just block him out for the next month or so until he calms down again."

Both men fell to the ground, exhausted, as they finally came to the clearing they had used all of their last two years. They had never been found here- after Sixth year, the Headmaster had given up dragging them 

away, hoping that they would give up themselves. He had someone, probably the centaurs, waiting and when the two bloody, ragged boys finally gave up and began the long walk back to the castle, then he would intervene.

"Snape, is your ward still up?" Sirius asked, pushing himself up into the tailor position and feeling his own ward. Both were rather powerful at warding, which might have been one of the reasons Dumbledore had left them alone. It's hard for anyone to break through someone else's ward, even a weak one. Sirius's ward had involved making sure they were the only two to be able to access this clearing, while Severus had made a ward breaching this clearing from the rest of the forest—making them able to Apparate from here if they needed to.

After the two had learned to Apparate, the Headmaster had never seen the true extent of their injuries. Both from pure-blood backgrounds, they had each Apparated to their family's private doctors and then met up to go back together.

"Of course it's still up." Severus snapped, not bothering to rise. He could feel his ward, strong all around them. "A more important question though- do we want to Apparate?"

"Well...yeah...I think." Sirius said, confused. "It's the quickest way to get there."

"And the easiest way to track." Severus said. "While we both were moderately good at covering our trail, we never tried to make sure Albus Dumbledore couldn't track us. If he finds out we went straight to Surrey..."

"Oh." Sirius said. "That's a good point- I haven't practiced that in years, I don't have any idea how effective I would be at that."

"Well, we could perhaps Apparate elsewhere," Severus decided. "To Diagon Alley, perhaps, and then we can enter the human realm from there. It could work."

"No it couldn't." Sirius scoffed. "Have you been in the Leaky Cauldron lately? Tom's as bad as ever- he sees everyone that goes in and out. You can be sure he'll tell Dumbledore. What about brooms? Remembering what I do about you, I'm sure you have the latest one around. What is it now? Nimbus 1000?"

Severus flushed. "I have a Nimbus 1100. But not here, I don't actually carry my broom around with me anymore. And I'm much too far to summon it. I should have grabbed it while still in the dungeons." He admitted.

Sirius looked the other man over, mentally evaluating. Neither of them were the men they had been just a few years ago. Both were thin and lean, though no less tough than ever. But it out to work. "We can use my motorcycle." He decided.

He pulled what looked like a child's toy out of his pocket and waved his wand over it. Instantly the motorcycle grew to just slightly larger than a regular motorcycle. "This was loads faster than the Nimbus 800 when I was imprisoned." He said, reaching into one of the specially-enlarged pockets and pulling out two helmets. "I'm not sure how fast an 1100 goes, but I know this can still get us to Surrey in about three or four hours."

"You actually enchanted a motorcycle." Severus said, absently catching the helmet tossed his way and putting it on. "I thought that was just another rumour that they had going around."

"A rumour?" Sirius exclaimed, highly offended. "Do you know how long I worked on this thing? It took me whatever free time I had Seventh Year plus a whole year and a half after that. And I had to get Lily, James, Remus and Hester Nimbus to help me."

"Hester Nimbus?" Severus was truly impressed. "That's quite a feat."

Hester was the youngest of _the _ Nimbuses, the makers of the finest brooms to grace the market. She had gone to school with them, she was a year younger.

"I was dating her." Sirius pointed out needlessly. "I thought I was going to marry her."

"Really?" Severus asked, surprised in spite of himself. All he knew of Black's escapades with women was that he went from one to another with each passing week.

"Yeah, I was with her through the second half of Sixth Year and all of Seventh year." Sirius admitted, knowing how much Severus had despised gossip. "You ought to remember—she's that blonde in Sixth Year who hexed us both by the lake when we were headed out for our last duel."

"Oh, was that her?" Severus said, picturing the girl as Sirius put on his own helmet. "Why exactly did she feel the need to do that?"

Sirius waved the question away, climbing on the bike. "Get on, I'll explain then."

Nodding, Severus put down the visor of his helmet and instantly felt a small microphone by his mouth. "Well, go on then." He said, as he climbed on behind Sirius.

"Hold on tight." Sirius's voice crackled around both of their helmets as he started the bike up with a loud roar. "She didn't want me dueling." He explained as they shot straight up a hundred yards into the air. "She had this insane idea that if she could just get me to stay out of the forest, I wouldn't duel you. She convinced Lily it was a good idea- so whenever I'd appear out in the courtyard and you were there as well, she'd pull me away to the Quidditch field. Didn't you think it odd that Lily would pull you away to the library from the courtyard all the time?"

Actually... he hadn't. "Not really." Severus admitted, holding on tightly as the motorcycle took off. "When we first became friends, she would do that all the time. Just grab my arm and drag me wherever she decided to go. She never really got over that, though it had been toned down before Sixth Year. So it wasn't surprising."

Also, it wasn't that interesting. But, this cycle was. "This motorcycle is definitely faster than the 1100. The brooms for the past three years haven't been this fast." He said. "How on earth did you pull this off?"

Sirius's laughter came through the helmets. "I had three of the smartest students in our class helping me, along with a girl who grew up creating fast things. And I always did like Arithmancy—I souped this sucker up."

"This is amazing." Severus had to admit. "I want this bike."

Already they were away from the flatlands of Scotland and flying over a city.

"No way, Snape." Sirius said, laughing. "This baby means more to me than anything. I'm only glad she didn't get destroyed when they thought I was the traitor."

"If I had known this thing was as great as it is, I would've stolen it from Hagrid." Severus said. "I'll give you 25,000 Galleons."

"Not for any amount of money." Sirius said. "Make one of your own."

"You know I wouldn't be able to, not if it took that many advanced wizards. Just sell it to me." Severus said.

"No way. I was bored with brooms by fifth year. I can drive this anywhere. You just stick to brooms, Snape."

They drove on in silence, both deliberately refusing to think about what they were doing, until Sirius finally put them down in a small wooded area.

"Okay," Sirius said, the two got off the bike and pulled off their helmets. "They live on the street just north of here. I'll disguise you if you disguise me."

It was always harder to disguise one's self.

"Sounds good." Severus said, pulling out his wand.

The two tapped each other on the foreheads, murmuring their spell. Instantly, both man transfigured. Sirius grew several inches, his face growing more tan and ended up in jeans and a sweater. Severus grew out, so he didn't look stick-thin, his hair lightening to brown and his nose and eyes changed.

He was now dressed in blue jeans and a red and gold shirt.

"Black!" Severus said, looking down at himself.

Sirius laughed. "Sorry, couldn't resist." He said. "But you can't change it." He said, as Severus took out his wand. "Exactly how many wizards go around in all-black clothing?"

Damn...but the mutt had a point. "Fine." He said, flicking the wand and changing the shirt to a blue so dark it was almost black. "But not with that Gryffindor shirt."

"Fine." Sirius said cheerfully. "Let's go."

"Wait." Severus grabbed Sirius by the shirt. "What's the plan. We go in and grab the boy? Do we talk to the Muggles?"

"We're going to get Harry." Sirius said. "If I talk to those Muggles, I'll probably kill them."

"We have to tell them something. What if Dumbledore left them a way to contact us just in case?" Severus pointed out logically.

"Fine." Sirius said, sighing. "You can say whatever you want to the Muggles. I don't care. Can we go now?"

"Just one more thing." Severus said. "Why don't we go in secretly? Just to make sure you didn't hallucinate or anything. How soon after being in Azkaban did you go?"

"Three days after they released me from St. Mungo's." Sirius admitted, sagging. "The Healers said I was the sanest person they had ever seen come out of Azkaban after such a period."

Actually, Severus could privately admit that Black actually seemed a little- but just a little, mind you- more sane than when he went in. Not that he'd tell Black that. "I had my doubts as to your sanity before you went in," he said, as was expected of him. "So let's get a little more evidence for when Dumbledore catches up to us. You know, sooner or later, he's going to."

"Okay, we can spend a few more hours." Sirius said. "I went in the other day with an invisibility potion, I think I still have some left. Hold on."

He went back to the bags on his motorcycle, looking through it. "Aha!" He said, triumphantly pulling two clear bottles from the bag. "Here." He said, offering one to Severus.

"Who made these?" Severus asked, looking at the bottle. The vial was made of an expensive crystal, but that wasn't the important part. The stopper was. All potions masters were allowed to cork their vials with toppers that had their initials on it in gold. Only potions masters were allowed golden initials and anything without them were 'take at your own risk'. He rarely...in fact, almost never...took anything that he himself hadn't made.

This one didn't have golden initials, but to his surprise, it did have white initials. 'SOB'. He looked at Sirius, who was silently watching him. "You're approved?" He said.

"Yeah." Sirius admitted. "The year after Hogwarts, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do, so in between making the bike, I did this. I was never too bad at potions."

Actually, until their rivalry had really flared up, the two had been neck and neck for the top of Potions spot. When Severus had stepped up in studying Potions, Sirius slacked, refusing to like something that Severus did. Severus had been much the same when Sirius turned to Quidditch.

Neither had hidden their second loves very well, as the whole school had known about Severus sneaking out onto the Quidditch Pitch just as everyone knew Sirius had set up a lab of his own in an abandoned classroom on the third flood.

But no one really talked about it, especially not where either man could hear it.

"That's...actually quite impressive." Severus said, absently studying the topper. Not many people actually became approved novices. Approved novice was a status that a person could test for if a person couldn't- for whatever reason- study the whole time it would take to gain a mastery and still be able to make and distribute potions to a single shop. It was a dastardly hard test that only one in every one-hundred fifty people passed, and which some people claimed was harder than the actual mastery.

"Thanks." Sirius said, grinning. "Still not sure why I did it, but it comes in handy. Let's go."

He tore off the topper and took his potion. He shimmered and then slipped right out of sight. Severus watched for a moment, but nothing happened, so he took his own.

Sirius grabbed Severus's shirt just before he disappeared and led him to out of the woods.

"Welcome to Privet Drive." Sirius said, as Severus stopped.

Sirius could practically feel Severus's disapproval, even before he spoke. "How can a wizard live in such sterility?" Severus demanded. "Only a Muggle could come up with something like this. Which one belongs to Petunia?"

Sirius led Severus to Number Four. Before they got to the door, they could hear a child screaming.

"Please tell me that isn't Harry." Severus said, half afraid of the answer.

"No, Harry almost doesn't talk at all." Sirius sounded disgusted. "That's baby whale. At least..." He added as Severus cast the spell that would allow them to walk through the wall. "It had better be."

"Too true." Severus mumbled, pulling Sirius quickly through. "Okay," he said, looking around. The walls were filled with pictures of a blonde child who really did have more than a passing resemblance to a baby whale. "How horrid."

"Focus, Snape." Sirius said, pulling Severus away from the pictures that had stunned him for a moment as well on his first visit and towards the kitchen, where the screaming was coming from.

The two men looked in and sure enough, it was the Dursley child. He was sitting on his mother's lap at the table, crying big crocodile tears that both men realized were false as the thin, horse-like woman glared at someone they couldn't see.

Severus pulled Sirius into the room, finally getting his first look at Harry in years. The four year old had looked better. He had been an adorable baby. Lily always picked out nice clothes for her baby and kept his hair short and neat so that it looked just like his father's.

His hair was longer than Severus would have imagined- James had certainly never worn his hair so long- but even so it still stuck up horrendously. His skin was horribly sunburned and there was a definite stench coming off of the child. Worst of all, he was wearing clothing that he swam in. They had obviously come from the baby whale and were horribly stained.

"He ruined everything, Mama." The little whale was moaning pitifully, turning his head to smirk at his cousin even as he spoke. "He made the teacher yell at me and messed up my drawing. I don't want him to go to school wif me. Make him stay home. I don't like nursery school!"

"How could you cause so much trouble?" Petunia Evans- now Dursley- snapped at her cowering nephew. "Destroying your cousin's work and pretending that yours was so much better. I don't know what lies you told this woman, but I won't stand for this nonsense. You just wait until your uncle gets home. Get in your cupboard, you disgusting piece of vermin."

"Sorry, Aunt Tunia." Harry muttered. He turned quickly, but didn't make it out of the room fast enough. A wooden spoon hit him just as he turned the corner. He winced and kept going.

"Aw, my poor little Duddy." Petunia simpered. "Ignore that little freak, Mama will make it all better. Let's have some ice cream, okay?"

The little whale agreed enthusiastically, the tears shutting off at once. Once he had downed a pint of chocolate ice cream, Petunia took him upstairs for a bath and then a nap.

"You see, Snape?" Sirius said, as they both retreated to the foirier. He turned Snape so that the other man saw the cupboard under the stairwell. "That's where Harry sleeps."

Severus shook his head, unbelieving. "They dare treat Lily's son this way. If the Dark Lord does return, I shall personally lead him to this house." He vowed.

"Hell, _I'll_ lead him to the house." Sirius said. "They won't get away with this. I won't let them, I just don't know what to do right now."

"Should we wait until the uncle returns?" Severus asked. "It's not like we can't protect him and we could gather more evidence. It doesn't look like Petunia does much- not that that spoon wasn't bad enough."

"True, true." Sirius admitted reluctantly. "I guess we can-"

He stopped abruptly as the door to the cupboard opened and one green eye peeked out. "Is someone there?" A childish voice asked hesitantly. "Aunt Tunia? I sorry for bein' a bad boy."

The two men stood still, both forgetting that the boy couldn't see them anyways. When he got no answer though, the boy's whole head popped out. He looked around, confused. "Is someone here?"

Sirius stood frozen, unsure of what to do, so Severus took the initiative. He reached out and patted Harry's head. "Hey there, Cub." He whispered.

Now the boy froze. His eyes widened and he swung around, looking for a body to place the voice. "Uncle Sevie?" He whispered.

Both men gasped.

"Uncle Sevie?" The boy repeated. "Are you really there? Is Mama with you? Is Daddy?"

"Will I do?" Sirius asked, hardly daring to believe. The boy had remembered one of his adopted uncles, would he remember another?

"Uncle Paddy?" The boy's eyes filled with tears. "Where are you?"

Sirius reached down and took Harry's hand. "Here, Cub. We came to get you. We're gonna take you to see Uncle Moony. We all missed you a whole lot."

"No!" Little Harry pulled his hand away. "Not real. Aunt Tunia says her an' Uncle Vernon are the only ones left to take care of me. Says I'm a freak with no one else."

"Harry James Potter, don't let me every hear you talk about yourself like that again." Sirius said, voice authoritative. "We love you and we came to get you."

"Uncle Vernon says no one can love a freak." The boy sniffed, running a hand under his nose.

"Cub, I won't have you talk about yourself that way." Severus stepped in, handing a handkerchief to the boy. As soon as Harry touched it, it became visible, shocking the boy out of tears.

"How'd you do that, Uncle Sevie?" He asked, mouth open.

Severus didn't answer. He tapped Harry's chin, making his mouth close and then retook the handkerchief. It stayed visible as he wiped the boy's eyes and then nose.

"Harry, are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?" Severus asked.

"My arm hurts." The boy admitted. "Uncle Vernon threw me in my cupboard yesterday. Me and Dudley are testing for nursery school and Dudley said I cheated offa him. But I didn't Uncle Sevie! I promise. But Uncle Vernon didn't believe me. He dun't like me."

"That's because he's an idiot." Severus said fiercely, even as he pulled up the billowing sleeve of Harry's arm. A full hand-print was visible on the child's tiny bicep, showing a much larger hand.

"We can't stay any longer." Severus abruptly decided. "Now you aren't the only angry one. Undo the potion."

Sirius nodded a nod Severus couldn't see and took out his wand. He tapped Severus on the head and the Slytherin shimmered into sight.

Luckily, Severus clamped his hand over Harry's mouth, so the boy's shout didn't carry.

"Easy, Harry James." Severus said. "Stay still." He added, while tapping Sirius with his own wand.

Sirius shimmered into view as well. "Harry, we have, uh... something on us to hide who we are." He tried to explain. Though they had changed physically, they hadn't bothered to change their voices. "Stay calm. We'll be back to normal soon."

"You take him out to the woods." Severus said, handing Harry up to Sirius. "Gather up anything he wants to take with him and go. I'm going to have a word with Petunia."

"Don't attract the Ministry's attention." Sirius said.

"Mm-hm." Severus doubted that was possible, but it was better to reassure Black. "You get out. I'll be right there."

He found Petunia upstairs in the master bedroom, brushing her hair. Her mirror on her vanity was opposite the door, so she saw him as soon as he entered the room.

"Who- who are you?" She demanded, swinging around and brandishing the brush.

"Petunia Evans, I am a wizard." Severus said, knowing no other explanation was necessary. She neither cared nor wanted it. "How dare you think you can treat Harry Potter that way? Did you never think we would find out? You will pay for this."

"What are you talking about?" Petunia sputtered. "We work our fingers off trying to provide for that ungrateful brat and get no compensation for it."

"Work your fingers off?" Severus exclaimed. "You have him sleeping in a cupboard!"

Her eyes grew wild as he turned his wand on their sidetable and destroyed it. "Stop it!" She begged.

"We're taking the boy." He said, vanishing the shards before they could hit him. "You'll never see him again until he can fight back against you. And if there really is a God, you'll be punished. I'll make sure of it myself. As soon as the Dark Lord returns- and you can damned well expect him to be back- I will personally lead him back here."

"No!" Petunia said. "H-he's gone. They said so. The little freak destroyed him."

"No way, Petunia." Severus said gleefully. "He'll be back- I don't think that man will ever die. And I will bring him by the hand back to you. He'll delight in killing Harry Potter's only remaining family and so will I. I only hope he kills your little beast of a son first, with you watching."

He grinned happily. "And lets me watch. And maybe if I'm lucky, he'll let me have a crack at your fat husband. I'll have to settle for that idiot, because I know he'll want you for himself. Lily Potter's blood sister. I can't wait."

"I shouldn't expect anything else from you people." She said, clasping her hands to her chest. "You're all horrible people who are on your way to hell."

"We'll be sending you there first." Severus said. "That's a promise. I will not rest until I have the pleasure of wiping out your husband's line, beginning with his darling little heir. You enjoy every day like it's your last. It just might be."

He patted her head condescendingly before turning and leaving.


	3. Harry's New Family

Chapter Three—Harry's New Family

Severus quickly returned to the woods, where Sirius and Harry were waiting for him. Without a word, he and Sirius reversed their spells and retook their own forms.

"Uncle Sevie!" Harry exclaimed, hugging Severus's familiar form.

"Hello, my Cub." Severus said, picking the boy up. "It's good to see you again." He confessed. "I didn't think you'd remember me."

"Look what he has, Uncle Sev." Sirius said. He had a small knapsack over one shoulder, but pulled it off to take out a stuffed animal.

Severus gasped. "Claws." He said, taking the animal. It was a small black panther that had a small blue collar that showed a dog and a wolf chasing a stag who had a rat in his mouth. "That's why he never forgot." Severus realized.

"Yeah, Uncle Sevie." Harry said enthusiastically. "I kepted my Claws that you gave me an' you were always wif me. So was Uncle Paddy and Moony and Daddy. And Mommy." He added, gesturing to the flower on the cat's tail. "Aunt Petunia never took it off of me and Dudley couldn't take it offa me, even though he tried."

Sirius looked at Severus, eyebrow cocked. He just knew Snape had done something to the animal.

Sure enough, Severus laughed. "Damned right those Muggles couldn't do anything. I put every Muggle-repelling spell I could muster on that cat." He boasted. "Also, with a few so that you wouldn't lose that cat, which I'm glad to see you didn't."

Harry took the cat, hugging him tightly. "He's my best fwend. Besides Onyx." He added, winking at Severus.

"Onyx?" Sirius turned to Severus questioningly.

"None of your business." Severus snapped. "Harry, you know I told you not to talk about Onyx in front of your other uncles."

"Sorry, Uncle Sevie." Harry said, looking guilty. "I know. Not tell Uncle Paddy and Moony and Daddy you a panther and no tell you and Mommy that Uncle Paddy and Daddy are doggy and stag."

There were gasps of surprise from both men.

"No way." Sirius said. "You can't be."

"Be what?" Severus decided on the spot to deny everything. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now, let's get Harry to your house. I'm sure Lupin will be wondering what's keeping you."

It was just beginning to grow dark as the three climbed on Sirius's bike, with Harry cradled between the two men.

There was silence on the ride home- which Sirius actually made on the ground, since he could get to London in no time- as both men were trying to think the day through and Harry was sound asleep.

When Sirius finally pulled into the garage of his house, Severus was ready with another plan he had been working on.

"I have another deal for you." He said, absently pulling Harry into his arms and watching Sirius closely as he took off his helmet. "Sell me the bike and I'll teach you how to make Wolfsbane."

That stopped Sirius. "You're bluffing." He said after a minute. "You can't make Wolfsbane."

"Who do you think Dumbledore gets to make it for Lupin?" Severus asked, rolling his eyes. "I am Potions Master at Hogwarts."

"I'll give you the spells." Sirius said finally. "For the Wolfsbane. You can make your own. And as Harry obviously does remember you, you'll have to visit or he'll have a fit, so I'll even help you do the work on it. Then I can make Remus's potion."

The two began walking in when Sirius stopped. "No that won't work." He said. "I don't think I'm advanced enough to make Wolfsbane. What if I poison my best friend?"

"Black, don't be an idiot." Severus snapped. "You managed three very advanced potions just hours ago. The Wolfsbane isn't really that hard. People are just intimidated by it. Now shut up- I'm not going to compliment you anymore. Let's find Lupin."

Still hesitant, Sirius shrugged. "Okay."

If he knew Remus J. Lupin at all- which he damned well did- dear old Moony would be right where Sirius had left him- devouring the Black library. He opened the door to the library and sure enough, there was Moony.

"Moony." Sirius greeted his friend, walking in.

"Ah Padfoot, how are- oh Merlin, you didn't!" Remus Lupin stood in surprise, seeing Severus Snape carry in a sleeping Harry James Potter. "You made Severus an accomplice in this madness? Sirius, I warned you."

"Black, take Harry to a bedroom." Severus ordered, placing the sleeping boy in Sirius's arms. "Lupin, the two of us need to talk."

As Severus had suspected, hearing the truth from someone who was not part of Lupin's 'pack' made the impact a little less severe.

Well...maybe just a smudge.

"I will kill her." Lupin snarled, yellow eyes flashing, trying the doors again. Severus had thrown up the strongest ward he could manage and was privately wondering if he could actually take it down again. "How dare she? I'll kill her, take up necromancy and bring her and her disgusting husband back to life just to rip them to shreds again. I'll devour her son right before her eyes. I'll..."

Severus tuned out the rant with a sigh. Every once in a while he actually remembered why Lupin got along so well with Potter and Black. He hated these times- he could almost respect Lupin all the rest of the time.

After ranting and pacing the room (though coincidentally not destroying any books- even with the wolf in charge) for an hour, Lupin finally calmed down. Then he became the same old irritating Lupin.

"We'll be raising Harry ourselves." Lupin said, suddenly rummaging through the shelves. "Sirius and I are responsible for raising him to be a respectable adult. I don't know anything about raising a child and I know he doesn't. I have to find a book on it."

He searched through every bookshelf ceaselessly until Severus could stand it no longer. "Come now, Lupin." He said, rolling his eyes. "This is the Black library- child bearing was not one of their main focuses. Though I did find a few potions that require the sacrifice of children, if you wish to go that route."

He had easily found the potions guides—Sirius's grandfather had been a renowned and feared Black-magic potioneers—and couldn't resist looking through them.

Still, the intensity of Lupin's glare made him give that joke up quickly. "I jest, of course." He said quickly. "But you will have to find books elsewhere. I would recommend going to the Potter Manor. I know Lily wrote several guidebooks for Potter. They should still be useful."

Lily had been put on bed rest- much to her extreme displeasure, they all had scars to attest to that- and had dealt with the six months of inactivity by writing a small series of thousand-page length guides for her husband and his friends.

The Marauders had devoured the three volumes she had written on the baby's first two years.

"That's right!" Lupin said, relieved. "Better yet- she had those things written up to the baby's eighteenth year. That's a start. Wait..."

Of course, Lupin was the smartest Marauder for a reason. The next half-hour was spent explaining Severus and Lilly's hidden post-Hogwarts/post-fifth year relationship.

It only made Severus feel moderately better that Lupin had never found out.

"Well this is great!" Lupin exclaimed when Severus had finished his story. "You can help us with Harry. You were around him just as much as we were when he was younger."

"I can't exactly get away very often." Severus pointed out. "I have to explain all of my absences to Dumbledore."

"Yeah, and you'll have to explain just as much to Harry." Sirius said, at the door again.

He had Harry in his arms, but Harry wiggled down to run to Remus. "Uncle Moony!" The boy exclaimed, climbing into the werewolf's arms and hugging him. "Hi!"

"Oh, Cub." Remus hugged the boy tightly, pressing his face into the boy's hair. "It's so good to see you again."

"Uncle Moony- I don't hafta leave again, right? I can stay here wif you and Uncle Paddy and Uncle Sevie?"

"Cub, you don't have to ever leave here again if you don't want to." Severus said. "The three of us will make sure of that. But, I can't stay here with you and your Uncles."

"But why, Uncle Sevie?" Harry asked, bottom lip trembling. "Before it was you and Mummy and then Uncle Paddy and Daddy and Uncle Moony. Now Mummy and Daddy aren't here- can't we all play together now?"

Severus smiled half-heartedly, patting the boy on the head. "I suppose we could, but I really can't stay with you, Cub. I have a job—I work at Hogwarts. I live there."

"Why don't you live with us?" Harry asked tearfully. "Uncle Paddy!" He turned to Sirius. "Make him stay."

Sirius looked revolted by the very idea. "Uh...Uncle Sevie has a job there, Harry." He said as gently as possible. "He has students there that depend on him. Don't worry- he'll come to visit all that he can, I promise."

"Really?" Harry asked, turning beseechingly towards Severus. "I know you never really wanted to play with Daddy and my Uncles any other time."

"I lost you once." Severus said. "I will not do it again, even if it means I have to spend time with your other Uncles as well. I have to teach during the week, but I'll be here every weekend. And you can call me whenever you want to."

"We're all going to try to get along." Sirius promised the boy. "Your uncle Sev and I are even going to work on projects together and you can help us. We'll all have lots of fun."

"Can Uncle Moony help?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Sirius laughed. "I'm definitely going to need old Moony's help. The four of us will do it together. Won't that be fun?"

"Uh-huh!" Harry said enthusiastically. "That will be so much fun."

"It will be," Sirius agreed enthusiastically, pulling the boy into his arms. "In fact, why don't we go start now. Have you got a motorcycle, Snape?"

"What are you doing with motorcycles?" Remus asked, watching the other two men warily.

"I do." Severus answered Sirius, "Though I don't carry mine with me. Perhaps we should just begin with spells we think might be necessary today."

Sirius sighed. "Fine." He said reluctantly. "So Moony," he said, turning to his friend. "Severus and I are going to spell another motorcycle for him, because I won't sell him mine. You will help, won't you?"

Remus looked from his friend, who was nearly bouncing up and down in anticipation, to Severus, who was actually not glaring. Not smiling, not even close, but not glaring. Remus too knew of Severus's love of flying. He could well see the Potions Master wanting Sirius's bike the first time he was on it.

And if it got the two to calm down around each other- even the slightest bit- it was probably worth all the work that another flying motorcycle would take.

"What do you think, Cub?" He asked, as the emerald eyes turned beseechingly to him.

"I think we should do it, Moony!" Harry said enthusiastically, happy that his three Uncles were even in the same room. It wasn't one of the memories he still had—he'd never seen the three together before. He'd only seen his daddy and Uncle Sevie together once and both had been very angry. "It will be fun!"

Well, this is the end of the pre-written parts I have of this story. I put it up so that I would actually be inspired to finish it. I have several other fanfics started, but again, not finished. Your reviews really inspire me.

I have an idea of where I want to take this story next, but if there is anything you want to see happen, please let me know and it just might be incorporated. If you see any problems, please let me know.

See ya,

Minara.


	4. Good Times

Chapter Four—Good Times

It was so much fun, as a matter of fact, that a mere hour later, Harry was asleep on the couch beside Severus. The book the small boy had been leafing through fell to the floor with a small thud as the boy finally drifted off, causing Severus to look up from his book.

The dark man looked around the library, finding the Marauders. Remus was at the table in front of the couch, writing feverishly on parchment as he recalled spells and charms they had used the first time and Black was up on a ladder, looking through the books on the highest shelves.

Satisfied the focus of the other two men was not on him, he allowed himself to run a finger down the boy's cheek. The boy actually looked peaceful as he slept. Now that Severus wasn't focused on the eyes that the boy had shared with his best friend, he could actually look at the boy's face.

He had always tried not to. He didn't want to look at the face that was nearly identical to James Potter's. He hadn't liked Potter- he still couldn't believe that Lily had actually fallen in love with the arrogant Gryffindor.

But now, he saw the subtle differences. This wasn't a James clone- Harry had his mother's stubborn chin and thin, delicate features. He didn't have the chubby face that James had had when they were younger, though he might grow into that.

The boy was very thin...something that worried Severus more than he wanted to admit. It was especially noticeable now, when the boy was finally motionless and the large clothes dropped almost to the floor.

Harry shifted slightly, dropping Claws to the floor.

Allowing a slight smile to flit across his face, Severus leaned down and picked the small animal up and tucked it back in Harry's arm. He stood, taking out his handkerchief and transfiguring it into a silver and green blanket, which he laid gently over the boy. He ruffled the boy's hair gently and then made his way over to the table to sit across from Remus.

Remus looked up, smiling at Severus and then glancing over, looking for the boy. As his eyes rested on Harry's sleeping form, they softened. "I suppose four-year-olds still need naps." He said. "I should probably go make us all some lunch before he wakes up."

And with that, the wolf was gone.

Of course, Severus Snape and Sirius Black being Severus Snape and Sirius Black, it was too much to ask that a whole day be spent in peace.

Remus had just finished setting the small round table in the kitchen when Harry dashed in, hugging the man's leg. "I'm sorry, Uncle Moony!" The boy cried. "Sorry!"

"Sorry?" Remus said, looking down at the boy in confusion. "What in Merlin's name are you sorry about?"

He picked the boy up, holding him securely, and wiped away the tears that were streaming down the boy's small face. "What's wrong, Cub?"

"I won't do it no more, Uncle Moony, I promise." The boy said, pathetically wiping at his eyes. "Tell Uncle Sevie and Uncle Paddy to stop yellin'- I'm sorry."

Both jumped as a loud crash was heard in the direction of the library.

"Oh, not in the library." Remus moaned. He sighed and then smiled reassuringly at the boy. "Don't you worry yourself, young Harry. Those two are both big gits."

The little boy giggled softly as Remus carried him back towards the library. The two men were facing off in the middle of the library. Thankfully, it didn't appear that any of the books were damaged, but the couch had been split in half and the table overturned, the papers scattered across the floor.

Harry moaned softly, burying his face in Moony's robe as his Uncle took in the sight of the two other men. Severus was now wearing bright red and gold robes and Sirius's hair was pink. It appeared this latest duel hadn't been entirely safe and Snape was holding one arm close to his body and blood was dripping from Sirius's nose.

"What in Merlin's name are you two doing?" Remus asked, struggling to keep his voice calm for Harry's sake. Though the boy didn't notice anything amiss, both Severus and Sirius turned in surprise to face Moony. His voice didn't usually get that challenging, nor did his eyes usually flash amber, which both men saw as they turned to him.

Seeing he had both of the other men's attention, Remus gestured meaningfully at the boy quivering in his arms. "It's fine, Harry." He said, softening his voice. "These two gits didn't mean anything. They're sorry. Aren't you?" He asked sharply, glaring at the other two 'Uncles'.

As Remus had figured, both of the other men looked horrified upon seeing the boy. The two of them had always become so caught up in each other and their feud that no one else registered when they got angry.

"Oh, Cub." Severus hurried over and pulled Harry into his own arms. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Harry sniffled, looking up hesitantly. "You no mad at Harry? I sorry."

"No, Cub, never at you." Severus said instantly. "Your Mummy explained this to you before, do you remember. Your uncle Paddy and I don't get along very well."

"Mumma said you no play well wif each other." Harry said hesitantly, glancing at Sirius. "You play well wif me."

"We do, Harry." Sirius said, stepping close enough to ruffle the boy's hair. "But Uncle Sev and I are still working on playing with each other. Maybe you can help us."

The boy looked between his two uncles for a minute and then nodded. "Otay. I play wif you both. And wif Moony. We all play well."

"Right you are, young man."

If not for the fact that they were illegally harboring Harry, Remus would have gone immediately to Albus to use his Pensieve. The memory of Sirius Black and Severus Snape walking hand-in-hand with the small black-haired boy between was one that should be treasured as well as shared with everyone who knew them back in their Hogwarts days.

The four of them ate a quiet lunch consisting of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, after reassuring Harry that he was indeed to join them.

For maybe the first time, Remus saw what Dumbledore had always professed to be true: Severus and Sirius were very similar. Their eyes both glinted dangerously as they watched the small boy earnestly deny his hunger even as his belly growled. They grew tense enough that Remus wondered if he could hold the two of them back if they decided to go after the Muggles.

He also wondered if he'd really want to hold them back.

Luckily for all involved, lunch passed without any more incidents and soon the three Uncles were outside with Harry, walking around the home that Sirius and Remus now lived in. They were isolated from their nearest neighbors by at least five miles and there was a large wood behind their house.


	5. Night of Uncomfortable Realizations

Chapter Five—Night Of Uncomfortable Realizations

Despite what anyone at Hogwarts might have thought, Sirius and Severus were realizing they had a lot more in common than they ever wanted to. The three men had realized the very first night that Harry had horrible nightmares, the details of which he could never remember. He would just sit up in bed (once they had explained very carefully to him that no, he was not to sleep in the closet of his new bedroom) shivering.

He hadn't tried to call any of them, something that disturbed all three men. Luckily for all involved, none of the men could sleep, as all were dwelling on thoughts of the day and trying to avoid the inevitable nightmares that would plague them during sleep.

So, after Harry had been tucked in and the three men had parted, once Severus believed the other men to be asleep, he had snuck into Harry's room, only to see the boy sitting in the dark rocking back and forth and holding Claws tightly against him.

"What's wrong, Cub?" Severus asked, lighting the candle next to Harry's bed as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Had a—bad dweam, Sevie." Harry whispered, turning his tear-filled eyes to his uncle. "Very scary. And dark." He whimpered, before biting his lip and hastily wiping his tears away with one hand. "But-but I no scared. I fine."

Severus mentally cursed the Muggles who he knew were behind such behavior. Obviously the boy wasn't _fine, _but obviously he believed he was supposed to be. Damn them to Hades.

"My Cub, there is nothing to be ashamed of." He said softly, scooping the little boy up and setting him on his lap. He hugged the boy tightly, rubbing his back. "Everybody has bad dreams."

"I didn't like it." The boy mumbled into Severus's shirt. "Bad."

Breathing in the scent of little boy, Severus could only sigh. "I know. Nobody likes nightmares. But you can always come see me or one of the mutt- I mean, one of your other uncles. They'll take care of you, Harry."

The small boy pulled away slightly enough to look Severus in the eyes. Whatever he saw must have reassured him, because he sank back against his uncle. "Don't want yelled at." He finally whispered. "Uncle Vernon said I had bad dreams 'cuz I was bad boy. It was my fault."

Barely repressing a snarl, Severus shook his head. "No, my Cub, no. Your uncle Vernon was an idiot. Everyone has dreams—everyone. Both good ones and bad ones. And it's up to adults to protect little boys from the bad dreams."

They sat there, motionless, for a long time; Severus talked calmly to Harry until he felt the boy fall back to sleep. Now he was in a really awkward position, sure that if he tried to move the boy would re-awaken.

To his absolute surprise, the door opened and in walked the two Gryffindors. "Here, let me take him." Remus said quietly to Severus, holding out his arms for the sleeping child.

Severus was so shocked, he allowed Remus to pluck the boy up, his werewolf-strength allowing him to be much more careful than Severus could have been. Slightly dazed, Severus stood as Sirius pulled back the covers on the bed so that Remus could place the boy down on the Snitch-enchanted sheets.

The two Gryffindors pulled the covers securely over the boy, causing him to stir a little bit. "Unca Moony? Paddy?" He murmured, his bright eyes half-opening.

"Sh, Cub, go to sleep." Sirius said, kissing the boy's forehead. "Pleasant dreams."

"Aye." Remus agreed, giving the boy a small hug. "Close your eyes. Come get us if you have any problems."

Severus started to back away, content to let the Gryffindors handle this. He knew nothing of sending a child to bed and would just-

"Uncle Sevie?" The boy said as he closed his eyes. "Where's Uncle Sevie?"

Both Remus and Sirius turned to the Slytherin expectantly, both amused by the stricken look he wore.

"Uh, I'm right here, Harry." Severus came back and leaned over Harry. "You heard Remus, we will be here if you need us. Er...here's Claws." He said, realizing he had somehow ended up with possession of the animal. He tucked it in beside the boy, freezing as two thin arms snaked around him.

Harry let go of Severus almost as soon as he had made contact, easily drifting back to sleep. Severus rose, cheeks hot, and glared at the two Gryffindors, daring them to say anything.

He got questioned, but not nearly the questions he feared.

When the three men had left Harry's room, Remus asked, "Would you like some hot chocolate, Severus?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Severus was confused. He had expected teasing and instead was being questioned about—candy?

"Oh, he's a pure-blood, Moony. He has no idea what you're talking about." Sirius said, eyes lighting up. "Sev- you have got to try this. Muggles are geniuses. Come on!" And with that he raced away to the kitchen.

Severus was not amused. He turned his glare on Remus, one eyebrow asking the question that would not pass his lips.

Remus grinned. "It's a drink. Melted chocolate and milk." He offered. "It's really good. We're having some in the kitchen, if you want."

"Thank you, but no thank you." Severus said. "I think I shall retire now."

"Severus, you don't look any more tired than either of us do." Remus said, shaking his head. "Don't you ever get tired of your own company?"

"I most certainly do not." Severus said, raising his chin. "And if I did, I would not seek out the company of Gryffindors."

"Really?" Now Remus couldn't hold back a smirk. "That's not what I heard."

He turned and walked away, calling over his shoulder, "Suit yourself."

If there was one thing Severus Snape could not stand, it was a deliberate challenge from a Marauder. What did Lupin know—or at least _think_ he knew? Severus had to know.

He felt only partially manipulated when he saw three mugs of a dark liquid on the table. The werewolf was smiling fondly at the drink while the mutt was gulping it down. "Who made this?" He inquired as he sat, taking the seat opposite of Sirius and picking up his drink cautiously.

"I did." Remus said, taking a drink and closing his eyes in pleasure.

"Yeah." Sirius said, rolling his eyes fondly. "That's why there is so much chocolate in it."

Severus raised the drink to his lips, smelling the concoction inconspicuously. He could smell no poisons, but that didn't mean this wasn't a prank. He took a small sip and almost spit it back out. "Could you have made this any sweeter?" He asked, having to swallow a few times to get it down.

Remus smiled dreamily, but Sirius groaned. "Oh, don't encourage him, Sev." The latter said, throwing his head back dramatically.

"Do not call me Sev, mutt." Severus snapped. "What on earth are the two of you inhaling this much sugar for? You won't get to sleep for hours."

Sirius drained his glass and reached for a container in the middle of the table, pouring himself more of the hot chocolate. "That's the idea." He said, grinning at his enemy.

What on earth did that mean? Not that Severus would ever ask, but it was very late. Even if they weren't busy the next day, it was well past midnight at least.

Instead, he turned to a more pressing issue. "What were you trying to suggest, Lupin?" He asked. "Back in the hallway?"

"Nothing, Severus, honestly." Remus said. "It was just...a rumour I heard."

"Then please inform me of what it was so that I may extract punishment from the idiotic git who started such falsehoods." Severus said, scowling.

The werewolf laughed. "Well, actually, it was Professor Dumbledore. And not a rumour so much as a retelling. He said that you and Minerva are often in each other's company. That's all, really."

"You and Minnie?" Sirius said, looking mildly interested and just a bit repulsed. "Why?"

Severus rolled his eyes, letting his anger fade and amusement take his place. "We are respectively the Heads of Slytherin and Gryffindor. The Heads have more meetings than regular teachers and as such I find myself in her company more so than either Filius or Pomona. While I would normally be more accepting of a Ravenclaw, Flitwick drives me insane. And..." He added with a smirk. "You don't know everything about your dear former Head."

He choked down another sip of his drink, hiding a small smile as the two Gryffindors gaped at each other.

"Tell us, Severus." Sirius demanded, tearing his eyes away from Moony. "Come on- she's the quintessential Gryffindor. No way you have something on her."

"There are more things to everyone than what you think, Black." Severus said, smirking. Oh, this was delicious, much more so than the drink. Watching Black squirm was more fun than anything. "Nor would I ever betray Minerva's good opinion by telling you her secrets. You shall have to live with the disappointment."

Sirius scowled at the Potions Professor. Remus laughed. "Perhaps we shall have to join you at Hogwarts someday then, in order to learn both of your secrets." He teased.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I do not think the Headmaster would ever be so foolish. Now, enough with your prattle. What in Merlin's name are you doing ingesting this much sugar so late at night?" He demanded.

Sirius grinned cheekily. "It's not fun when you don't know everything, is it?"

"Luckily you will never have that burden." Severus shot back at once. He had honed his razor-blade tongue against the Black scion and welcomed the opportunity to sharpen it anew.

The two men stopped to glare at each other.

"Easy." Remus urged soothingly, fingers itching towards his wand. "Don't forget about the little boy just upstairs."

That calmed them both, a little.

"Now, Severus, you have things you don't want to talk about and so do we." Remus said, trying to strike peace. "So we'll ignore your friendship with Minerva-"

"It is not a friendship!" Severus protested.

"-and you in return will not ask about our chocolate habits." Remus went on, ignoring the feeble protest. "Let us talk instead of you. You're staying tonight, but how long are you able to be away from Hogwarts?"

It was a question that was one of the many reasons Severus was avoiding sleep. "I believe the most I could conceivably stay would be three, maybe four days. Then the Headmaster will actively begin tracking me, if he is not doing so already. The two of you must get Harry settled as soon as you possibly can."

"And when can you return?" Remus asked. "I know you still have two months or so until school gets out, but you shouldn't really be busy for another four to six weeks, right? So, shall we expect you on the weekends?"

Severus just managed to keep himself from gaping at the man. "You have no objections?" He asked. He turned to Sirius. "_You_ have no objections?"

Sirius, for his part, looked decidedly uneasy. "I..." He trailed off, looking from Severus to Remus. Remus cocked his head slightly to the side, a sign that might have looked like he was listening eagerly, but that Padfoot knew meant Moony was mocking him. Merlin, he hated when Moony's sarcastic side came out. He knew exactly what his old friend was thinking too, even without the benefit of Legimancy. _If Harry wants Severus here, there is nothing you will do to stop him. You've never denied that boy anything._

And dammit, he was right. The smug bastard. "I have no objections. If Harry were with you and he wanted to see me, could you stop him?" He shot back when Severus smirked. There was another smug bastard, just begging to be pranked. Or hit, whichever came first.

He was -slightly-gratified to see the smirk fall from Severus's face. "That's right." He said, a little more cheerfully. "And besides, we're going to need a lot of week-ends to get that motorcycle enchanted. Bring it back with you next time. I can remember most of the preliminary spells and Moony found a few he wants to add as well."

"I shall." Severus said. "Well, if that is all, I shall you see you two in the morn. From Lily's grumblings when Harry was a babe, I understand he wakes early."

He was rewarded with two winces. "Good night." He said, turning to leave the kitchen.

That was not their last encounter that first night though. Of course, Severus had no intentions of going to sleep—the last thing he needed was for Black to hear his nightmares—so he went back to sit with Harry for awhile.

Watching the small boy sleep was possibly the most peaceful thing Severus could ever remember doing. And as with all things that allowed him comfort, he soon decided that too much was bad for him. He decided instead to return to the library. He believed he had found a book that would possibly give him a few spells for the motorcycle.

But he found upon his arrival, Sirius Black sitting at the table Lupin had been at before, scribbling on a parchment, several large tomes spread out.

Sirius heard his arrival, thinking it to be Remus. "Hey Moony, figured you'd be getting up pretty soon. Look what I found!"

He held out the parchment behind his back, not bothering to look back. Ever willing to oblige and more curious than he liked to admit, Severus took the parchment.

"It's the spell we used on the framework, remember?" Sirius said, digging into a new book. "To keep the metal from vibrating apart at such speeds."

"That sounds interesting." Severus said, finally going around the table and dropping into the chair opposite of Black.

Sirius jumped, eyes widening. "What the hell are you doing up?" He asked, looking behind him to make sure that Moony was, in fact, not there.

"I ask the same of you." Severus said. "I left your...company...more than an hour ago."

The two stared at each other, each suspicious, before Sirius sighed. "I don't sleep so well. Azkaban, you know." He shrugged. "Some things you just can't forget."

"Hm." Severus said, looking back down at the parchment to hide his surprise. Who knew Black was capable of something besides malice. Well...besides around Harry. But really, who couldn't love that little one?

He didn't want to say anything- hated giving up one of his secrets- but knew he owed the Gryffindor. One thing their enmity had always been was equal. Prank for prank, injury for injury, truth for truth.

So he admitted, "At least your memories are of minor things. Being for any time in the Dark Lord's presence makes it hard to sleep as well."

Black met grey again as they searched each other's face for signs of mockery or pity. Neither would be accepted on either side and none was given.

"Alright then." Severus said. "Since neither of us can sleep, let's get to work."

The two each retreated into a book. Not half an hour later, Remus joined them. He looked surprised to see the two sitting calmly across from each other. Sirius didn't look up, merely handing the list of spells he had found to Moony, before continuing his readings.

As Remus took his seat across from Severus, the Slytherin did take a minute to look up. One glance at the acceptance and realization mixing with the weariness on the werewolf's face told Severus that Remus knew the truth about him and that the three now shared more than a little boy.

"Never thought I would have so much in common with werewolves." Severus commented lowly. Then he snorted. "Nor with Gryffindors. I shall never live down the shame."

He went back to his readings, missing the subtle glances Moony and Padfoot were sharing. Their sentiments were much the same. They had much more in common with the Dark man than they had ever thought. And yet he had not mocked them...how odd indeed. Well...there was always tomorrow.

Please feel free to give me your opinions and what you think should happen next. I've already slightly changed the outline to meet some of the ideas previous reviewers gave. I have no problem adapting this story so I'm not the only one who loves it.

Let me know,

Minara.


	6. Mischeivous Boys at Play

Chapter Six—Mischievous Boys at Play

Tomorrow began much sooner than any of the men truly believed. They had all retreated finally to their rooms to manage a few hours of sleep just before dawn. Only a few hours later, the three men reawakened, not by haunting memories, but by the sudden smell of smoke and a loud crash.

"Harry." Severus was on his feet instantly, sweeping out of the room to meet up with Remus.

"It's the kitchen." Remus said at once, taking a deep breath to allow his over-developed senses to work. The two rushed into the kitchen, just as Sirius stumbled in from the Western wing of the house to see smoke rising from the stove with an overturned chair in front of it and a small boy wearily sitting up from his new position under the table, holding his head.

"Harry James Potter, what on earth are you doing?" Remus exclaimed, nostrils flaring as he smelled blood. "Sirius, he's bleeding." Remus said, leaving Sirius to the boy even as he turned to the stove. A quick Extinguishing spell contained that problem.

As his friend saved the house, Sirius swooped down to grab the boy and place him on the table.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Paddy," the boy sniffled, holding onto his head. "I'm sorry."

"Dammit, I forgot my wand!" Sirius realized after frantically checking through his sweatpants. "Harry, hold on one minute."

With that he turned and ran out of the kitchen.

Severus rolled his eyes, even as he forced his own panic down. He hadn't taken off his robe and always had his wand with him. The boy would be fine. He walked around the table and calmly cast a Healing Spell.

Harry took his hand away to see that there was no more red on it and that his head no longer hurt. He grinned impulsively up at his uncle. "Thanks, Uncle Sevie."

With that, he started to wiggle off of the table.

"Hold it right there, young man." Severus said, reaching out to stop the boy as Remus walked over, carrying a small pan. "What is it?"

"Eggs... I think." Remus said, poking the burned mixture doubtfully. "Harry James, what in Merlin's name were you trying to do?"

At their tones, Harry's smile fell. "I- I was makin' bweakfast." He said. "I didn't eat any of it!" He protested.

"Harry, if you're hungry, you are to wake up one of your uncles." Severus said, still holding the boy. "You're too small to cook. Didn't you realize that was dangerous? You could have fallen off of that chair onto the stove!"

The small boy shrugged. "I'm fine, Uncle Sevie. I was makin' bweakfast for you and Uncle Paddy and Uncle Moony, for when you wake up!" He said. "Still not good wif the eggs, but I made toast!"

He pointed to the counter by the sink where three plates of sloppily buttered toast did, in fact, sit.

"Oh dear Merlin." Remus said, looking around the room for the first time. The refrigerator wasn't completely closed, nor was the cupboard where the dishes were. The werewolf could only imagine how the boy had gotten up to them, as they were in the highest of shelves. The toaster was still going and the carton of two-dozen eggs was filled with broken eggshells.

"Gotta get the orange juice next." Harry said, trying to remove his uncle's hands. "Then the coffee!"

"Harry James, you are not to make breakfast. Is that what your Aunt and Uncle made you do?" Severus asked, finally picking the boy up and holding him so that he would stop wiggling.

"Uh-huh." Harry said, looking hesitantly at the very stern uncle holding him. "'S'all a fweak like me is good fow'." He quoted.

"Harry, you are not a freak." Severus said sharply. "You are never to say that again, do you understand me?"

Now the boy looked truly frightened. "Yes sir. I'm sorry!" He squeaked. "'m sorry!"

Hearing Remus's hidden chuckle, Severus realized he had actually frightened the boy. "No, Harry, I am sorry. I don't mean to scare you." He apologized. "But you are not a freak. You are a little boy, and you could never be a freak. Your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are the freaks, don't ever forget that."

"Uncle Vern'n a fweak?" Harry said, awed. The idea had never occurred to him.

"Yes, Harry." Remus said, with a warning look to Severus. "You are just a little wizarding boy, just like me and Uncle Paddy and your Uncle Sev used to be."

The boy thought about that for a minute. Then he giggled. "I just like you?"

Severus raised one eyebrow, unsure as to where this conversation was heading. "Yes, quite. Just like I am. You will one day grow up to be a great wizard, just like me."

"Ha." Sirius said, walking back in. He had calmed considerably and was now dressed in a Gryffindor red t-shirt with a robe thrown on top, twirling his wand in his fingers. "You'll be a great wizard like me, Harry, don't listen to Sev. "But little boys are not allowed to cook."

"I always cook, Uncle Paddy." Harry said, turning to his uncle. "Uncle Vernon always made me cook."

"Here, I do the cooking." Remus said. "You wouldn't want to take my job now, would you?" He asked, grinning at the boy.

"No!" Harry protested, turning back to look at Remus. "No, Uncle Moony!"

"Good." Moony said, winking at the boy before looking at the pan. "Because you're just as bad at cooking as your Uncle Padfoot is." Laughing he offered the pan to Sirius.

"Hey!" Sirius looked at the pan and pouted. "I'm not that bad." He banished the pan to the sink and took Harry into his own arms. "But that's fine. Harry and I will be bad cooks together, right Harry?" He asked, tickling the boy. "We don't wanna cook anyways. Come on, let's go get dressed."

And with that he swept out of the room.

Severus sighed. "That man makes me feel much too old." He said, turning towards the coffee pot he saw on the counter by the sink. Ah, his saving grace.

Remus grinned. "Yeah," he said fondly. "He does that. It's good that he can smile at all though. After Azkaban..."

He trailed off with a shrug, watching as the Slytherin drew coffee meticulously into the filter and started the brew. "So, what kind of eggs do you want?" He asked, grabbing another carton out of the refrigerator.

"None." Severus said, not taking his eyes off of the coffeepot. "I don't eat breakfast."

Remus watched for a few minutes longer, but Severus didn't look up. Wow, Remus thought, as he quickly began scrambling eggs, does the man like coffee.

Remus had the first batch of eggs done by the time Severus was on his third cup of coffee and only then did the werewolf allow himself a cup.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," he informed Severus as he joined him at the table, splitting the eggs onto two plates and then waving his wand at the stove to begin another batch, adding on bacon and sausage as well.

"Shut up, Lupin. Don't ruin this for me." Severus said, not even looking at the other man. "Dumbledore insists on tea at the breakfast table."

Grinning, Remus took his advice and dug into his eggs, only looking up again when Sirius and Harry reentered the room.

"Look at us, Uncle Sevie." The boy said, from his position in his godfather's arms.

Severus looked up and cringed. Sirius and Harry were dressed identically, in scarlet and gold shirts and Muggle jeans. "Black..." He said, glaring at the man.

Sirius grinned broadly, setting Harry down in the seat next to Severus and taking the last seat for himself. "Here Harry, eat up," he said, pushing the second plate of eggs towards the boy and then looking to his old friend. "Well Moony, doesn't he look adorable in Gryffindor colors?"

"He wears your clothes better than you do." Remus agreed teasingly, getting up and bringing back food for his friend as well and bringing out the orange juice.

"Ha, ha, Moony." Sirius said dryly, eating a few pieces of crispy bacon and then gulping down a glass of orange juice while grinning across the table at a disgusted Severus Snape. "We're going to have to get him some clothes of his own, though."

"You're going to have to get a lot of things for him," Severus said, poring the boy a glass of juice and ignoring the boy's atrocious manners as he plowed through his food. "And how exactly do you plan to do that without being caught? Neither of you can just appear with a child."

"Oh, so you're volunteering?" Sirius said at once. "You have some nephews, right? Back in France? One of them could be around Harry's age."

"Why would my nephews come here just to go shopping for clothing?" Severus asked, rolling his eyes. "They have my cousins for that."

"What else are we going to do?" Sirius asked reasonably. "The only children left in my family are Andromeda's girl and Narcissa's son. Actually, Narcissa's son ought to be about Harry's age."

"Draco is in fact a few months older." Severus said. "He's my godson. But there is no way she'd let you take him."

"Well that settles it." Sirius said. "You take him then. I have no valid excuse and neither does Remmy."

"Fine." Severus said, holding up a hand and wincing as the man absently gulped down another glass of orange juice. The stuff disgusted Severus. "I'll take him clothes shopping."

"And we'll go with you." Sirius said. "While you're doing that, Moony and I will go buy toys."

All three men were watching Harry closely throughout the discussion, but the boy's eyes remained firmly on his food. He was listening, however, as they saw his eyes flicker to Sirius for a minute at the word 'toy'.

When they decided Harry wasn't actually going to say anything despite the hopeful look on his face, they went back to their discussion.

"We'll buy him some stuff to start out with and then in a few weeks we'll take him again and let him pick out his own toys. And we'll get him a broom. He needs to learn how to fly a broom." Sirius decided. "And then we'll head on back to work on Snape's motorcycle."

"We had better go today." Remus said. "Didn't you say you have three or four days? We'd better stick with three, just to be safe, so it's best to get this stuff down quickly. If we decide he needs more clothes afterwards, you can take him on the next weekend you visit."

Plans made the four quickly finished up breakfast. While Harry was left with Sirius- quite hesitantly by both Severus and Remus, much to Sirius's annoyance- the two other men quickly dressed.

Feeling safer with only one of his uncles around him, Harry finally spoke up. "Uncle Paddy, I no need new clothes. I fine. No need spend money on a..."

The boy stopped and Sirius watched in amusement as the boy turned to where Severus had retreated.

Obviously he remembered Severus's warning.

"On me." The boy amended, taking out the Dursley's favorite word.

"Believe you me, boyo," Sirius said, patting the boy on the shoulder as they waited in the sitting room for the others. "I have plenty of money to spend. Not that any money spent on you would ever be wasted."

He grinned, swooping down and grabbing the boy in his arms again. "You're my only godson. I'll never marry and Moony isn't going to find a girl for awhile, so you're it. You're stuck with me."

Harry grinned. "I your godson?"

"Yep." Sirius said happily. "That means your Daddy decided if he couldn't take care of you, I would be the one to do it. I'm your godfather."

"Dogfather." Severus muttered, rolling his eyes as he walked in.

"Hey!" Sirius protested, both at the insult and because Severus plucked Harry out of Sirius's hands. "Snape!"

"Shut it." Severus said. "I have to change his appearance. I can't take Harry Potter with me, now can I?"

He placed Harry on the nearest couch and tapped the boy gently on the forehead. Instantly his hair fell limply against his head and his eyes blackened completely. "Not bad." Severus said, looking at the boy. "Now Harry, we're going to play a game, alright? Just you and me. While we're out, don't tell anyone your real name. Let's think up another name for you, okay? Why don't we call you Alec, alright?"

"Alec?" Harry said slowly, testing it. "I Alec?"

"Alec Snape." Severus agreed. "If anyone asks, you tell them that's your name, do you understand? Just tell them that you're with your uncle. Nothing else."

"Yes Uncle Sevie." Harry said. "I Alec Snape."

"Alec?" Remus asked, reappearing, dressed now in neat blue robes.

"My cousin Dmitri's youngest son is named Alec. Alexander Sebastian Coran Snape." Severus repeated from memory. "Dmitri's third son and fifth child overall. He only had to go through three wives to have them all."

He shrugged and with another wave of his wand, Harry's shirt was turned green with tiny silver snakes on it. "And no Snape's were ever placed in Gryffindor."

"Slytherins all the way, huh?" Sirius said, wrinkling his nose as he grabbed the floo pot. "Only takes one- I proved that."

"Actually, so did I." Severus said, picking up Harry and taking some powder. "All Snape's go to Ravenclaw. But...Prince's go to Slytherin. Diagon Alley," he added, stepping through before Black could work up an answer.

"Prince!" Even Sirius retained enough Pure-blood knowledge from a Slytherin family to understand that. The Prince's were a rich family- even more so than the Potter's or Black's or Malfoy's. And they had always been a Dark family. A Prince had married Salazar Slytherin's only daughter and the two lines had mixed for years.

The four only met up again at the Leaky Cauldron that night, just before dinner time. Of course, they had to keep up appearances.

"Why look what we have here, Moony." Sirius said, fighting a smile as he saw the disguised Harry fast asleep in Severus's arms as the man nursed a firewhiskey. "Snape spawned."

"Black." Severus immediately had his wand in his hand, moving the sleeping child away from the Gryffindors.

Tom, the owner, hurried over, not wanting a fight in his pub. "Now, now, fellows." He urged. "Can I get you two something to drink?"

Sirius and Remus took the two seats left at the bar, which were not surprisingly by the Dark Potions Professor, and each ordered a firewhiskey. They were immediately served, but Tom didn't leave. The two dark haired men had caused considerable damage in his bar the one time they had happened to catch each other here, in the summer before their Seventh year, and Tom was not eager for it to happen again.

"This here is Professor Snape's nephew, come to visit him for a few days. They went shopping, but the little one's all tuckered out."

"I didn't know Snape's slept." Sirius said. "They must grow out of that."

"Black, I'm warning you." Severus said. "Alec is returning in a few days and afterwards, I have no problem tracking you down."

"Yeah, well, come on by the Marauder Manor anytime." Sirius invited. "At least I see now there really was a child and not you just trying to hide from our fight, like I expected."

"You'll get yours." Severus vowed. "As soon as I am free of obligations." Task accomplished- for until now he had no idea where to go in the Floo system, as he hadn't known the name of Black's new house- he stood. "Tom, put that on my tab. As well as some Floo powder."

It was another half hour until Sirius and Remus thought themselves inconspicuous enough to leave. They flooed home to find Severus at work in the library with a sleeping Harry beside him. After taking the time to hide Harry's presents, they joined Severus in the library.

"Sorry about that." Remus offered. "We didn't even think about you not knowing the name of the manor until we flooed home to see you still not here."

"It is fine." Severus said, waving off the apology. "Harry and I were fine. I took him for ice cream after getting clothes and then to the bookstore. The child has learned to read, though his family wasn't supportive, so we bought a few books as well."

"So did you get everything for him?" Remus asked.

"Yes, Madame Malkin was quite helpful." Severus said, sipping a cup of tea he had made. "And delighted to help build a new wardrobe for the child. I told her it was my gift to Alec because he had older brothers and was therefore used to receiving hand-me-downs. She also found out his whole history, which if I am correct, Dumbledore will know by morning. He also now knows we didn't fight, so we may not get into too much trouble."

"Snape, you're taking this Dumbledore thing much too far." Sirius said laughing. "We're adults now."

"And you're still as naïve as ever if you think that means anything to that old coot. You've no idea how he thinks- he still treats me as if I were a third-year trying to break into the restricted section." Severus said, scowling. "Even though I am now a teacher. He treats all his former students like that."

"What about the clothing?" Remus asked, directing the topic away. Sirius would learn soon enough, no need to ruin it for him now. "You didn't buy all black, did you?"

Sirius suddenly gasped. "Or all Slytherin. You can't just force your house on him, Snape. He'll be a Gryffindor through and through."

"Actually, if my younger brother is any indication, Harry is a Ravenclaw." Severus said absently, still flicking through the book in his hands. "I let him pick out everything. Most of his stuff has Snitches or Dragons on it. He seems to like the idea of flying. I let him pick out the books he wanted as well, as we bought out most of the children's section. He's very advanced, reading wise, which he said he did in secret in his _cupboard_." Severus spat out the last word, allowing displeasure to show.

He finally looked up. "You'll have to begin teaching him soon, he's very curious. But his grammar must be worked on first, as it's atrocious. I think I got an explanation of that as well, as he was generally...discouraged from speaking in the presence of his family, so you're going to have to work on that."

"I can take care of that." Remus said. "I tutored children occasionally, I know the basics."

"Excellent." Severus said. "As I do not know what Muggles usually teach children. He was in their first year, whatever it was called, so you may base your training on that."

"And I bought him a broom." Sirius said happily. "And one for myself and Moony, so we can all go up." He frowned, suddenly, saying, "I had wanted to take him up tonight. Is he going to wake up?"

"It's already eight." Severus said, looking at his pocket watch. "I believe that is probably about his bedtime, so probably not. I fed him as he started to doze off, so he has dinner in him, at least. You may all go flying tomorrow, we have nothing else planned."

"That's good, as we just about have the spells we need for your motorcycle." Remus said. "Once we were done shopping, we went down to the Marauder vault and we actually found this."

He tossed a notebook to Severus, which he caught one-handed. "It's the beginning stages of what we did. We have more notebooks, but we gave them to Hester. She wrote her own, once she realized our handwriting was so horrid."

"We'll probably need to write it out again, for you." Sirius said, watching in amusement as Severus squinted down at the chicken-scratch on the notebook's pages.

"Nonsense," Severus said, rolling his eyes. "You've obviously never been a teacher. I have to translate every essay I receive."

Okay guys, here's the long awaited Chapter six. Sorry this has taken so long, college is kicking my ass right now. I've already started on chapter seven and it should be out by next Monday. Please, let me know what you thought of it and anything you'd like to see happen. More action next chapter (including the whole family flying), I promise. If anyone has any idea of who to pair up any of the uncles with, please let me know. I don't think I want Remus and Tonks together, lovely though they are in canon. Right now, I'm pretty sure Tonks is being taught by Professor Snape. Awkward...

Let me know,

Minara.


	7. Musings

Chapter Seven- Musings

_The boy was obviously calming down_ , Severus thought idly as he sat at Harry's bedside again that night. Other than one nightmare that woke the boy up in tears, he had been sleeping peacefully since he was brought home.

And so the man was left to his thoughts, not needing to comfort the boy and having nothing else to do. The research was done, they had found all that they needed; now they just needed his motorcycle, which he would bring back the next weekend.

Harry was calm, nicely settling in with the Gryffindors, much as Severus hated the idea, so there was no real reason for him to stay anymore. He had fixed their cover story in the clothing shop and in the Leaky Cauldron; any longer and the Headmaster would think the lies truly were lies. He had no excuse not to go back.

He brushed the spiky hair on the sleeping child's forehead and sighed. No reason to stay except for this little one. How on Merlin's earth could he still feel so protective of this child- he hadn't let himself think of the child since he had been sent to Azkaban. But one word- just one word from Sirius Black, of all people- and everything had changed.

It was as Lily had never gone in one way. It brought the memory of his best friend back horribly in another way.

And, if he wasn't being too arrogant, the boy was getting reattached to him as well. And that just wasn't good. There was absolutely no way to hide such a thing and there was no explanation as to when Harry Potter could have met Severus Snape, Death Eater.

As much as he hated to think it...

It wasn't safe for him to be around the boy. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer. It was inevitable that the Dark Lord was coming back, at which time he fully intended to return to spy. He had given his life to the cause, and would not be swayed.

Being close to Harry would only cause trouble in the end. Severus knew good and well the prophecy, though he had only been forced to give up the part that his...associate...had also overheard that night. That damned Mason, trying to curry favor with the Dark Lord, had cost him his best friend. His only chance for a better life. So, after making sure Mason would never give up another secret, Severus calmly prepared himself to die.

That he was still breathing meant nothing. He had died with Lily. Which meant he had no business being around her son. Keep him safe, yes. He had done that and would do so again any time it was necessary. But forming another attachment...well that was just out of the question.

Harry Potter would not be tainted so.

* * *

Decision made, Severus abruptly stood. His swift movement dislodged the stuffed panther that had been lying in the boy's limp arms, so he bent down to pick up Claws. That gave him pause again. He had tried something very similar in the beginning as well. The first time Lily had invited him other house to see her son, he had said no, very straight-forward and calmly.

The struggle that ensued had left him hexed til Tuesday with standing orders to come visit the very next day. As his luck would have it, Potter had been off from work the next day, leading to a large fight between himself, Potter and Lily, which Lily had resoundingly won and got Potter kicked out of his own house for the weekend.

Severus had likewise lost, in a manner, as he had been held at the house that weekend, to stay with Lily and the child. Merlin help the Dark Lord if he had called that weekend, because Severus was sure Lily would have hexed his ass too.

The very next time Severus had visited, he had brought Claws for the child. Awkward and unsure, he had handed it over to the small boy. It was accepted at once and as Harry started drooling on the animal, Severus had seen tears in Lily's eyes, which he was quickly reassured were good tears, whatever the hell that meant.

He had felt horribly awkward the whole time- as if he really were trying to take over Potter's family as the dolt had accused him- but had stayed out of duty. It was a long time before he warmed to the child, even longer before he started calling him by name. When Lily was always right there beside her son, it was impossible to see anything but their resemblance.

Now though...now he could see almost nothing but Potter in the boy. And if he cultivated that carefully, he could erect shields high enough to end these feelings of...familiarity, of contentment. He had no business feeling these sort of things anyways.

He was just a slimy git. The bat of the dungeons. This boy was the Savior of their world. He had no business breathing the same air as the child; he had known that even before the boy showed his tremendous strength.

He had tried so many times to explain that to Lily. That he hadn't wanted to taint her son with his very presence. That he wanted to protect the boy's innocence for as long as was possible.

She...

She had never let him. Not once. She refused to see his obvious taint and had instead made him into an Uncle for her child. A balance, she always claimed, to the mischievous uncles the boy's father was always playing with.

Lily would forever be wary of the Marauders, despite falling in love with one of them.

And so he had done it then. He had followed her orders willingly, happy to be able to share something again with his friend. Not that she would have ever accepted something else.

* * *

But things were different now. He couldn't keep living in the fantasy world that Gryffindors so easily fell into. Sooner or later the wolf and the mutt would realize what he only now was. They wouldn't want him around either. So it was better to just leave now. Before any attachments were permanent. This was a stupid plan anyways, there was no way Black was going to hide the Boy-Who-Lived from Albus Dumbledore for seven years.

Better just to go now and let the pieces fall where they would. Maybe think about confessing to Dumbledore, so his punishment wasn't so much worse than it would be. For Dumbledore would find out, of that he had no doubt.

Yes.

He shook his head, clearing away memories of the past. "I did my duty Lily," he whispered, placing the cat back on the bed. "And will continue to do so. But on this, even Potter and I agreed. I have no business being around this child."

He kissed the boy on the head and then resolutely walked out. All he wanted now was the final list of spells they had compiled. He could enchant the bike himself, he didn't need Gryffindor help.

One quick spell later, he left the library and headed to the kitchen. Sure enough, the Marauders were there, calmly sipping more of that horrendous Muggle drink.

For one moment, Severus pondered how he was to explain everything to the other two men without going into anything personal, but it turned out he didn't have to.

Sirius took one look at him and snorted. "Get over it, Snape." He said. "It's not going to work."

Severus calmly took the seat opposite of his enemy, watching idly as the brown-haired werewolf pushed a cup of hot chocolate his way. "I think it would." Severus said, not touching the glass. He had imposed upon his enemy's hospitality long enough; this was getting out of hand. "I have done my duty to Lily. That's all that boy ever was. It's time to accept that."

"Severus, be reasonable." Remus spoke up. "Surely even you must realize that the boy is already reattached to you. You spend almost every other day with him the whole first year and a half of his life. That isn't easily forgotten."

"Don't be foolish." Severus had his mind set. They would not change it. "He doesn't remember much of that time, anyways. He's an abused child, he'd be happy with whoever gave him the littlest bit of attention. I have no doubt the two of you will make him a quaint childhood."

Sirius shook his head. "You're an absolute git, if you think this is actually going to work." He said, almost amazed at how stubborn the other man was being. "I thought stubbornness was a Gryffindor quality. You're certainly acting the part tonight."

"Surely you've already seen that you calm him down from his nightmares more so than either of us." Remus said, eyes carefully watching for any sudden move from either side. "He trusts you subconsciously, even more than either of us. I will admit neither of us was really around overnight, but you must have been."

"Lily often had me stay overnight. And darling woman though she was, she could sleep through anything." Severus explained, almost absently. He refused to let Black rile him on this. "The two of you will get the hang of it soon enough. I shall see him at Hogwarts, when the time comes."

Both of the other men could see that Severus had just about completely made his mind up. "You won't get away with this." Sirius said, suddenly worried. "This is ridiculous, the boy needs you just as much as he needs us. We're all responsible for him."

"No." Severus said, loudly. "If you check his birth certificate, you were named his godfather. He's your responsibility. Potter knew that if it came down to you, Lupin would be there to save you. In no way was I put into said plan."

"If you think for one minute that Lily didn't expect you to swoop in and take over caring for the boy anyways, you're more stupid than even _I_ thought you were." Sirius spat. "The boy remembers you- what exactly are we supposed to tell him when he wakes up tomorrow and you're gone? That you were a figment of his imagination?"

To his horror, Sirius saw that Snape was actually considering that.

"Severus, don't be foolish." Remus, luckily, stepped in. "The boy knows you exist every bit as much as we do. Are you worried about raising him? Because between the three of us, I honestly don't believe there will be many problems. We'll figure this out."

"You have no idea of what you speak." Severus said, rising swiftly to his feet. "Apparently even you really have no clue. If the two of you weren't so frightened of your responsibilities towards that boy, you too would realize the danger of having me near him. You cannot risk Lily's child in such a manner. I will not."

He turned and glared at Sirius. "You ought to be against it more than anyone. What were all those names you spat at me all those years? 'Death Eater', 'greasy git', 'know-it-all', 'dark wizard', 'bat of the dungeons'…none of those have changed. Some have even come true. Surely you don't want your godson, the future Lion, to be associated with such a man."

For a minute- just one minute- Severus thought he had put up a good enough argument. Black's face was slowly falling into a frown…and then he began shaking his head.

Damn, so close.

"No," Sirius said. "No, Snape. Schoolboy grudge aside- schoolboy mistakes aside- you're one of the few people Lily ever trusted. And that girl was the best judge of character I've ever met besides Albus Dumbledore. And even he trusted you- at a time when no one else did. There's nothing wrong with you being around my godson. Maybe this will even help bridge some of the gap between Gryffindors and Slytherins, a gap our generation never could do anything about."

"Dammit, Black." Severus growled. "Just when I think I can ever stand you, that blasted Gryffindor nobility kicks in. You know nothing about my life. Perhaps I fooled Lily- certainly enough people think I fooled Dumbledore. You cannot trust me around that boy."

Sirius stood now too, folding his arms across his chest and smiling smugly. "You would never hurt Lily's son. That I know more than anything else I've ever known about you. You would have betrayed anyone over Lily; even if there was a time you were loyal to Voldemort. He never had the hold on you that she did. No one could have- Lily was special."

"I know Lily was special." Severus growled. "That changes nothing. Her son will be too- because he will share her innocence. I will not poison him and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind."

The two men glared at each other for a minute, both breathing heavily, while Remus cautiously watched them both.

Sirius broke first. "Fine, Snape, fine. You win. Run. Run away from the little boy that scares you more than you'll ever admit. But I'm going to send you letters every day of everything we did with him, so you can't ever get him out of your head. I'll tell him all about his Uncle Sevie and get him to tell me all the things he used to do with you and send all those memories you don't think he has to you. Every time he asks for you, every time he cries for you- I'm going to make sure you know it all!"

With that he turned and stormed out.

"Tell him not to bother." Severus said to Remus.

"Severus." Remus followed the man, stopping at the door, as he stormed outside. "Our Floo is warded to you. You can call or come visit anytime. Even if it's after he's asleep!"

Severus showed no sign he had heard, Apparating away as soon as he cleared the wards.

* * *

There were many things Albus Dumbledore regretted. One could not live as long as he had, or lead as long as he had, without inevitably making decisions that continued to haunt him. One of his greatest failings was turning down Minerva when she had offered her love to him, afraid the age difference would be too great. Now he had to watch her age alone, too stubborn to ever be the friends they once were. Another was the students he had failed. Tom Riddle, orphaned and alone; Sirius Black, ostracized from and abused by his own family; Severus Snape, abused and alone where he should have been protected…

Was he really making another mistake? Was Harry Potter following the same path that the others were? Could he really stand to let that happen again?

There was a very frightening possibility that Sirius was telling the truth. Not that Albus doubted him, exactly. But the boy was known for jumping to conclusions. He had lost several years of his life to Azkaban because he hadn't waited for the proper authorities to go after Pettigrew…

But Severus was different. Severus was meticulous and thorough to a fault. He also hated Sirius Black with a passion that even Albus had been able to contain, meaning there were a select number of reasons he would go off with his Gryffindor counterpart.

And Madame Malkin had just confirmed that Severus had admitted they didn't fight. Severus had instead gone off with a nephew of his. While Severus wasn't particularly close to his family, Albus knew he did in fact have a cousin with sons that age. So, Severus could have been telling the truth, in which case the battle was only postponed between the Hogwarts alumni, something Albus would still try to contain.

However, the one glaring omission was that Severus had never before spent time with his nephews. Had something happened within the family?

Or was it a big hoax?

The Marauders were known for pranks and Severus could more than hold his own by the time he left. One thing they all felt passionately about was their friendship, Sirius with James Potter and Severus with Lily Evans.

If…

If Severus had not left to fight Sirius…could Sirius have convinced Severus of the claims he tried to convince Albus?

Albus felt bad about not letting the boy explain. Even if Sirius had been wrong, Albus should have just let him rant. A lot of times, that was all Sirius wanted anyways. Maybe he had proof. Maybe he had convinced Severus with said proof.

Maybe that boy wasn't Severus's nephew. Albus knew all too well of the secret life Severus had led even before his defection. Albus had watched the boy closely ever since the werewolf incident. He hated the ruling he had to make and forced himself to watch the boy being coerced right into the waiting arms of his Death-Eater counterparts.

He watched the boy he regarded almost as a son fall to his darkest hours and then begin to draw out again as his empathy regained power over his hatred. He watched the secret visits to Lily Potter, worrying about the boy interfering where he ought not, and then watched his boy do everything he could to keep Lily and her baby safe…even though the baby was identical to James Potter.

But if those two had taken Harry…what to do? If…and it was a big if…but if they had taken the child, they must have had a reason. It would have had to have been a great reason to get Severus to even think about leaving with Sirius. And they had known it was against Albus's wishes, for why else would they go to such lengths to hide their intentions?

If they had taken Harry, they had done what he had been unable to. They had probably done the right thing. He would let them have their small victory, but would work to hide such actions from the Ministry.

Relieved, the old man smiled. He had made his decision. They were free to play their game. It wasn't the first time the Marauders or even Severus himself had tried to get one over on the old Headmaster. He would let them have their fun- there was no way either Severus or Sirius (or Remus, as he was probably involved as well) would let harm come to Harry.

He would be waiting for them when the guilt got to them. He knew these boys, he had watched them carefully for over seven years. He trusted them.

Smiling softly, he watched as Fawkes flashed into sight. The phoenix cooed softly and suddenly Albus felt a shift in the wards. "My boy has come home, Fawkes." Albus said softly. "Let's go see him."

* * *

Albus placed a hand on the bird and they were instantly at the edge of the forest. Albus hid himself in the shadows of the trees and waited. All too soon, his dark Potions Master came stomping out of the forest.

For once, though, his stride wasn't confident, his cloak wasn't billowing behind him. There was a definite slump to the usually proud man's shoulders.

Something was not right. Had Albus been wrong? Was the boy actually returning from a fight?

He must have made a noise, for Severus was suddenly pointing a wand at him.

"Severus, my boy, you are not looking well." Albus said, stepping towards the younger man calmly. "Why don't you escort me back to the castle."

Severus sighed, but calmly walked back with Albus. Albus actually ended up escorting Severus, as their trip led them to the dungeons. They had walked in slience, but as they reached the portrait guarding Severus's quarters, Albus stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You can always talk to me, Severus. I do hope you know that."

That was usually enough to get all the secrets the boy was harboring, but the defeated look didn't leave the Potion Master's eyes today. "You cannot help me." He said morosely. "Nothing can, so there's no reason to talk about it."

And with that, he was gone.

"Oh dear," Albus murmured, turning back towards his own rooms. "What has gone wrong now?"

* * *

Okay, guys, here's another chapter for you, hope you like it. I know you'll all love the quick update, which you can thank ams71080 for. His/her review absolutely made my day today. Here is your magic word ams: review. A little bit of a twist in this chapter, but I always kind of figured if given this opportunity Severus would absolutely run screaming in the opposite direction so much so that even Sirius felt bad for him, though Sirius will of course use this for his own fun. And of course, nothing slips by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, lol. Next chapter will be Sirius tormenting Snape, the first female influence for Harry (sort of) and Albus trying to subtly help his boys. Any suggestions would be welcome (especially as to what woman any of the 'uncles' begin dating.) Also, if you have any ideas about how Severus should eventually reconnect with his little Harry, I'm not too sure about that part.

As always,

Minara.


	8. Stupid Noble Severus

Chapter Eight—Stupid Noble Severus 

While there were many things the students of Hogwarts could- and most certainly did- say about their Potions Professor, the following day, a Monday, bright and early, they found a new word for him. One they'd never considered for him before…

"Professor!"

Albus Dumbledore had finished all of his paperwork early that day and was taking a relaxing stroll through the halls of his fine school when he was met with a most surprising sight. Second Year Charlie Weasley and his young Ravenclaw friend, Nymphadora Tonks, were running towards him, followed by Giles Nott, a Second Year Slytherin. From his vantage point, Albus could see most of the Second Year waiting at the end of the hallway, all four houses clumped together, talking anxiously, with more than a few older students mixed in as well.

While he always encouraged inter-house communications, he couldn't help but be worried. The scheduling this year had placed all four Second year groups in Potions on Mondays and Thursdays. This could be bad.

"What is wrong, children?" He asked, summoning a smile and pulling out his always-present bag of candy. "Calm yourselves. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?"

All three anxiously shook their heads. "Headmaster, there's something wrong with Professor Snape." Nott spoke up first. "He's not acting normal."

"He isn't, Professor." Charlie Weasley added in. "He didn't take any points from Gryffindor today. He's never done that before. Ever!"

"And when I blew up my cauldron, he just cleaned it up." Tonks, as the girl adamantly preferred to be called, added. "I accidently tripped and added too much of our final ingredient, pixie wings, and it blew. He just cleaned it all with a spell and told me to start over when he saw no one was hurt."

"I see no problems with that, children." Dumbledore said. "Many of you have complained over the years about Professor Snape. Now one day he tries to take it easy on you and you complain? I assure you, if he hears of this he will never try again."

That was enough to have some of the older students backing off, but the three in front of him stood firm.

"No sir," Charlie said, shaking his head so hard his long red hair went flying. "He's really different."

"Professor, ignore them." The brown haired Giles said, looking disdainfully at the pink-haired girl beside him. "They'd complain about anything Professor Snape did, I understand that. But even Slytherin thinks there's something wrong with him. It's like he's been Confounded!"

Now that got the Headmaster's attention. "Very well, children." He said in his most calming voice. "I shall go and speak with Professor Snape now, if only to congratulate him on such admirable efforts to appease his students. Now off you go, I'm sure you all have homework waiting for you."

Amidst groans, the students dissipated until only Giles was left. "Sir, I really think something's wrong with him." The small boy said, looking surprisingly worried. "Please help him."

And with that, now looking highly embarrassed, the boy disappeared.

The youngest Nott had quickly become the leader amongst the younger Slytherins, so Albus knew why he had been elected to speak for them. While he knew all the Slytherins were fond of the one teacher who regularly stuck up for them, he hadn't realized until then just how fond. Slytherin though he was, all twelve year old boys have trouble hiding their emotions and the Headmaster could clearly see that the boy was worried.

Adding that information to the way he had left Severus last night and the old man was more than a little worried. At once, he turned and headed towards the dungeons.

* * *

As was always his luck when he had a direct mission, he was intercepted. This time he didn't mind because he was met by the lovely Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor, Minerva McGonagall. "Minerva." He greeted the woman wearily, for though she was a trusted confidant, she was wearing the face she wore when she was protecting her cubs, usually from Slytherins.

Sure enough, her first words were of Severus. "Albus, something must be done about that boy. If he's not ranting and scaring my poor cubs, he's…doing whatever it is he's doing now. I don't like it, Albus. I've told you for years, he must be held accountable for his actions."

Her words were harsh, but Albus didn't let that bother him. He was one of the very few who knew to look beyond such things to the way she was biting her lip and the worried look that she couldn't quite hide from her eyes. She was worried. She cared about Severus every bit as much as Albus did and she wanted him to go do something to help their boy.

Right NOW, if her tightening lips had anything to say about it.

"I am on my way there just this minute, Minerva." He said, patting her comfortingly on the shoulder. "And you are welcome to join me. I knew the boy wasn't feeling well last night, frankly I expected more explosions from him today, rather than whatever this is. I expected to find some Hufflepuffs crying at my door."

That was usually what happened when something affected Severus. For it not to have happened was actually most unusual. "I don't know what Severus has been up to," Minerva informed the Headmaster as the two walked towards the dungeons, "But he has thoroughly frightened most of the students in the school."

They walked in silence for a moment and then Minerva had to ask, "Is this because of Sirius? Filius told me that the two had gone off on another one of their 'fights to the death'. Is the boy injured?"

"No, the duel was called off, as Severus found himself in possession of one of his cousin's children." Dumbledore said. "Though the two didn't part on the most amicable of terms. He was quite distraught when he got back, so I know something did happen however. Perhaps it has something to do with the small boy he was with. I was told the boy was terribly thin and Severus bought him a whole new wardrobe. Perhaps things aren't going well with his cousin."

Actually, that was another thing that worried Dumbledore. If- _if_- the boy was Harry, why on earth was he so thin? Neither Lily or James was particularly thin and it wasn't as if his family hadn't had the money to support him. Likewise, he should have had clothing- why on earth wouldn't his family buy him clothing. Surely even if Sirius and Severus and Remus stole away the boy, they'd take the time to grab the boy's clothing.

Wouldn't they?

* * *

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Albus was doomed not to get his answers anytime soon, for upon reaching Severus's quarters, they found even more wards locking people out than his usual Mad-eye-Moody-paranoia level.

Even Albus had trouble taking down the normal wards Severus used- how gifted the stubborn boy was at keeping people away- but now he faced the unpleasant realization that he actually couldn't take down the wards. He, Albus Dumbledore, was actually unable to do something.

He turned to Minerva, but luckily didn't have to explain. She smiled reassuringly. "We'll figure it out." She said instead. "He's obviously not going to leave for meals and he has first period free tomorrow."

"He'll use a house-elf to get food." Albus said, eyes lighting up. "That's perfect."

One quick trip later had them in the kitchens. Binky, Professor Snape's personal house-elf had them in his sitting room soon thereafter.

There they found Severus slumped in the lone armchair sitting before the fireplace, a bottle of Firewhiskey sitting on the table next to him, half empty.

"You are not Binky." Severus said, his enunciation as perfect as ever. He scowled suddenly. "Damned elf. I knew I should have just gone without food and banished him from my rooms. I won't mess up again…" He trailed off, glaring at the roaring fire before him, ignoring his visitors.

Luckily, they were more than a little used to that. Both conjured up an armchair on either side of his own, discreetly moving the Firewhiskey out of reach. "Severus, I believe we need to talk. Something is obviously bothering you."

Albus had learned well over the years, how to manipulate like a Slytherin, how to be daring like a Gryffindor and how to be steadfastidly loyal like a Hufflepuff, but he would never leave his true roots- he was as curious a Ravenclaw as ever lived.

Therefore, Minerva was not surprised when that failed to work.

"We don't _need to talk_." Severus mocked. "Frankly, I don't want to talk to either of you. I have nothing to say."

"Well, boyo, I have more than enough to say to you, so maybe that's just as well." Minerva was every bit the counterpart to Severus's Slytherin side, a true Gryffindor. She had no problem riling him up- for his own good, of course. "Whatever this new scheme of yours is to torture my Cubs, you had better give it up. I won't stand for it anymore than I stand for your out and out bullying."

"Ha." Severus scoffed as she knew he would. "Even when I don't do anything to your precious Lions I get in trouble. There's just no pleasing a Gryffindor, I've already learned that. I will not be yelled at for something I didn't do- you just wait until tomorrow." He threatened, turning to glare at the woman. "I'll give the little dunderheads something to complain about. They all need to grow up and stop acting like children!"

He caught himself on the last word, his expression falling to dismay as he thought about Harry. If he acted this way around his students, how on earth could he be expected to handle Harry. Harry was much more fragile and just one snap from Severus and Harry would never trust him again.

What a horrible thought. He was a horrible man- and he had to make sure that Harry never found out. If those eyes- Lily's eyes!- ever once looked at him with betrayal, he'd never be able to live it down. He would succumb to the bottle, just as he had attempted when Lily first died.

Just as he was attempting now.

Wait…

Where was his bottle?

He spotted it lying on the other side of Minerva's own chair and scowled. "It is after-hours, I've graded all my dunderhead's assignments and I haven't killed anyone today. You _will_ give me back my whiskey. What I choose to do in my off-hours is still my own business."

"Not if you're going to behave irresponsibly." Minerva took great pleasure in moving the Firewhiskey even further out of sight. "Honestly, you're regressing, Severus. Going off with Sirius Black for another of your ridiculous fights? You two aren't students anymore- you cannot continue acting as such."

"You, thankfully, were never my Head of House, so bugger off." Severus snapped, glaring at the woman. "If you want to criticize someone, criticize Black. He's the one who took time out of his busy schedule to search me out. I sure as bloody hell didn't go looking for that bastard. _He _came to _my dungeons._ Not the other way around."

At the remembrance, Severus's glare turned back to the fireplace, though this time his eyes were drawn to the mantel above the pit. On it sat an inconspicuous little letter, one that could really instill in Severus the desire to drink.

Damn Black, sending his damn letter. Didn't the man have anything better to do than mock and tease Severus at every turn?

Oh wait, no. He never had found a more pleasing pastime. The bastard.

"Severus, my dear boy, we just want to make sure everything is alright." Albus spoke softly, seeing the younger man's attention riveted on the envelope on his mantle. It must have bad news in it, no matter the situation. Severus had never known how to deal with his emotions, so that was when he turned to Firewhiskey.

Until he had the matter cleared up himself, nothing Albus did or said would make a difference. And, Albus thought with a smirk, while Minerva could get a reaction, it was hardly a productive reaction.

So instead, he stood. "Very well, Severus. We shall leave you to your evening. But know that you may always come to me when you wish to talk."

The younger man didn't answer, but the roll of his dark eyes was answer enough. He was already lost in his thoughts, wherever they were leading him, so much so that he didn't notice them leave until he reached for his bottle to find it gone.

"That damned Gryffindor!" He snarled.

* * *

Severus kept his word, as he was always wont to do, and half of the children in his classes- including all of the Hufflepuffs- ended up in the hospital wing for Calming Draughts.

It only lasted Tuesday however, not because of Minerva's rant- which he had clocked at exactly 89 minutes and 23 seconds- but because of his own guilt.

His last class of the day had been the worst one of all- mixed First year Gryffindors and Slytherins. He had took great pleasure in targeting the Gryffindors, if only to anger Minerva. He succeeded in frightening the lot of them and had had no problem until one of the little Lions had burst into tears. The boy was a tall, gangly both with bright hazel eyes, but had hair almost identical to Harry's.

As the boy bowed his head, trying to hide the tears despite his shaking shoulders, Severus was suddenly struck with an image of a frightened Harry standing before him and weeping.

It was true- it was really true. Everything the students said about him was true- he really was a horrible git.

"Class dismissed." He said at once. "Someone take Mr. Diers to the hospital wing." He added, waving his hand awkwardly at the boy before him.

Though he had never let them out early before, they knew not to question any order given by him- the git!- and quickly disappeared.

Frankly, he was glad Minerva had come to yell at him. Otherwise, who knows what he might have done. He could have broken down and started crying himself.

So he waited patiently for her to finish her rant- he had come to the teacher's lounge specifically looking for it- and then walked away without a word to reflect on her words. He usually ignored her rants, but now he needed to know exactly what was wrong with him. He wouldn't change- probably couldn't- but he needed to know what exactly about him he needed to make sure Harry never saw.

Not that he intended to go and see Harry. No. He would wait, as he had always intended to, until the boy was eleven to see him. That way, Lily's son could grow up the way he was meant to. Free of taint, free of the bat of the dungeons' influence.

He would stay here, where he belonged.

And so Severus spent Tuesday night, doing nothing but staring at the second letter that had arrived for him. It too sat on his mantle, and it too would remain unopened. If he could get the damn owl to just take them back, he wouldn't even look at them. But the owl wouldn't and he couldn't put too much of a fuss up at breakfast or he would draw Albus's curiosity. The meddling old man was already curious about the fact that he had gotten mail for the last two days- Severus knew that look that Albus was sending his way. The Ravenclaw smelled a mystery.

Unfortunately, this Ravenclaw also had the Gryffindor brashness needed to attempt to solve it.

* * *

Wednesday passed and even Minerva was confused at this point. What in Merlin's name was going on with her former student? He was in the teacher's lounge again, as Albus had ordered the elves to stop bringing food to the dungeons and then after dinner, Filius had seen fit to drag Severus into a debate and they had ended up here.

While he was seemingly doing his grading now that Filius had conceded defeat, Minerva knew better. There had been very few red marks on the last paper he had graded and the current paper had none, despite it's five foot length. If he wasn't careful, a non-Slytherin was going to get a passing grade for the first time ever.

Silently snickering, she took a long look at the man. Though he was always thin, she knew almost for certain that he hadn't eaten since he'd gotten back from wherever he had disappeared to. His face was drawn, more so than usual, and instead of a scowl, or even a smirk of triumph, he had an odd, defeated look on his face that she hadn't seen since his second year.

What on earth had happened? While she liked to think her lecture from yesterday had effected him in some way, she knew that it hadn't. He had carried out his threat, but then had returned to his- what had that First year Muggleborn called it?- oh, yes. His zombie state. Her students had explained exactly what that meant, he hadn't come bursting in the door to scare them, he hadn't yelled, he hadn't taken points or given detentions. He had given his lecture and then practically ignored them, though he had of course saved several cauldrons from exploding.

The boy could do so in his sleep, which it almost sounded like he was doing. She knew he wasn't good at expressing emotion, but this was ridiculous. Something had to give.

* * *

And then, on Thursday, it did.

* * *

Sorry, sorry, sorry for the cliffie. It wasn't intentional, but this chapter was dragging out (I know, boring, but this transition was needed). I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I get it typed out. I lied in my A/N for the last two chapters, I discovered upon looking back. I promise, the family flying fun is coming, as is the female influence in Harry's life. The second is (_is_, I absolutely promise, lol) coming next chapter—see if you can guess who she is, but the first may not make it into the next chapter, if it turns out the way I think it will. We shall see. Thanks for all your reviews—this chapter's title is in honor of CrayonsPink, who left the phrase in a review and it stuck with me. Isn't it fitting?

Until next time,

Minara.


	9. Coming Undone

One quick note: As this is an AU, I have taken liberties wherever I felt like. While reading JK's stories, I always pictured Dumbledore as a nosy little Ravenclaw who was slowly learning to use his interactions with the other houses to his benefit while still remaining ridiculously curious. As for Tonks, I actually didn't know she was a Hufflepuff until someone pointed it out in a review—oops, my bad. I always thought of her as a Raven as well, though I'm not exactly sure why. Just go with it for this fic ;)

Chapter Nine—Coming Undone

Severus never liked Thursdays anyways. Thursdays were unpleasant from the beginning, as he was required to attend breakfast on Thursdays, at the very least. He would only let himself experiment with potions after grading all of his students' essays, so he was often up late. Added to his chronic insomnia and his dislike in general for breakfast and he so often skipped breakfast that he had been assigned a day as part of the Headmaster's effort to make sure he was actually eating.

To combat such an absurd order and annoy the Headmaster, on Thursdays Severus opened breakfast at 6 am. He was only required to stay for an hour and a half, so he was able to leave by 7:30, which worked out quite nicely as most students only made their way down for breakfast in the last few minutes before first period began at 9. He was long gone by then, so he avoided the noisier tendencies of the teens and those rare teens who wanted to eat in silence knew they could come in earlier and not be rudely jarred awake by talking.

Likewise, for those who dared, this was the one time that students could approach Severus without coming to his office- often a scary place for students- and they could come in a group. Severus only let students in his office one at a time- not at all eager to try and figure out what a group was trying to say- but he couldn't justify such an action in the Great Hall.

And that was the problem on Thursday.

He was sitting alone at the Head Table- the Headmaster's revenge for this act of defiance of Severus's was that all of the other professors 'coincidentally' decided to sleep in every Thursday- when he was approached by one Nymphadora Tonks.

The Second-year Ravenclaw was a walking menace, an absolute horror in his lab, and therefore he watched her warily when she approached him. He had, dare he say it, a sort of respect for the child, as she was one of the few students outside of Slytherin who had absolutely no fear of him. Why, he wasn't sure, but he had never been able to intimidate her.

"Ms. Tonks." He greeted her, face neutral. "May I help you?"

She wasn't very energetic today, her hair her usual brown, and she was looking at him with the same wariness with which he was regarding her. That couldn't mean anything good. He took a long draw of his coffee—which Binky had been faithfully slipping him at breakfast in an effort to appease his angry Master—before turning to the girl again.

"Er, I was asked to give you this." She said, holding out a rolled up parchment. "And he said you'd know who it was from and that...well, that I wasn't to leave until you read it and that you aren't to kill the messenger and if you want to send a letter back, you can give it to me."

He reached over the table to take the parchment, suddenly nervous. Such an idiotic method of delivery had to be...but why would he use a young Ravenclaw?

The girl looked terrified for once by his presence, which cheered him slightly even as it made him feel guilty.

Well, he would get no answer until he read it. Maybe he was overreacting- maybe it from Flitwick and would just require a simple answer...

Yeah. Right.

He reluctantly pulled the string holding the parchment. He was just able to contain a grimace, but it was a near thing. As he'd feared, it was from the mutt. Actually, to be specific, it was from Harry, which was even worse.

Harry had drawn a picture of himself surrounded by the three men, Severus holding Harry with Black and Lupin on either side of them with both the woods and Marauder Manor in the background. In childish letters on the bottom of the parchment, the boy had written, "I miss you, Uncle Sevie. See you this weekend."

There was another parchment behind the drawing, which Harry had carefully colored, and this time Severus couldn't help but read it.

'Hiya Sev.' The impatient scrawl of Sirius Black dashed across the parchment. 'I'm sure you've burned my other letters without even bothering to open them, so it was either Nymphadora or a Howler. I thought I'd try my little cuz first- you do remember her mom, my cousin Andromeda, right?- to try and keep this whole thing a secret but if I find out you were the least bit rude to Tonksie, I will send a Howler to you at dinner in the Great Hall. Don't yell at my cousin. I thought she'd be neutral.

'She found out about Harry- when Andy and her husband Ted visited abruptly on Monday. I used the name you gave us before- Alec- and didn't give a last name but implied he was mine. Andy told Tonksie, who is coming to visit her new 'little cousin' this weekend. You can come with her if you want. As per my threat, I have been telling Harry all about you at school. All good things, don't worry, Remus is listening carefully. Harry wants you to teach him how to make a potion the next time you visit.

'Neither Remus nor I have said anything to him about your leaving, though he was a little upset that you had to leave without saying goodbye. If you don't come this weekend- as you promised- you'll have to answer to him. I can't believe you'd really upset Harry like that, but I will dutifully record everything that happens.

'On that note, let's see. He'd moped the whole day after you ran away, worried that he had done something to upset you. He wouldn't play, he wouldn't read, he didn't want to eat and he had nightmares all that night. We eventually just pulled him into my room and the three of us laid in my bed together. He went back to his bed after that, but he still has had nightmares every night. He won't call out for us and he doesn't really calm down so much when Moony and I finally find him. He's just curled up, holding that cat you gave him and usually he cries for you. I don't know what exactly you do that we aren't, but you obviously have something. He's depending on your coming back- he had Remus mark on the calendar in the kitchen how many days are left until the weekend. He's excited that his 'cousin' is coming to visit, as he enjoyed his 'aunt's' visit, but he's ecstatic to see you again. It's all he talks about.

'Okay, Sev, I've got to get going. We're taking the kid flying for the few hours- he doesn't do much else besides read the books you suggested to him and do the grammar exercises Remus works with him on since he heard that you wanted him to do those. He really looks up to you, you Slytherin bastard. Why, I don't know. Obviously you don't either. But who can understand kids, huh? He's waiting for you. Don't disappoint.

'Until tomorrow,

SOB'

Severus crumbled the letter, swallowing hard. Why? Why in Merlin's name was the child so attached to him. He hadn't spent that much time with Lily when the boy was just a baby. Most of his interactions were usually at night, when he stayed over. Lily could sleep through anything and even back then Severus had trouble sleeping, so Severus had often spent time with the boy. That was it though, and often the boy didn't even know that he was there.

Oh he missed the boy already. But it wasn't worth it. He wasn't the type of man who should be around eleven year olds, let alone four year olds.

Miss Tonks gave a slight cough, drawing his attention to her. Severus looked around the room, seeing only a few older students eating. "Miss Tonks, you may tell Black that I have nothing to add to what I last said to him." He said. "You will not speak of Alec to anyone and also will not tell anyone that Sirius Black has sent me a letter."

"Yes sir." The girl said at once. "Sirius already warned about it. No one's supposed to know he has a kid or that you two are secret friends. He said if anyone found out he'd get me. I'll see you later, Professor."

She grinned at him and headed off to her House table.

Suppressing a scream- secret friends?- Severus watched the girl as she began eating breakfast. Oh, Black would pay for that. Whether or not they had to maintain this fraud, some lines needed to remain. Black was treating this as too much of a game still- this was about Harry's life.

Luckily, important message to deliver or not, Nymphadora Tonks was still a twelve year old child and therefore slept in as late as she could, so by now it was ten past seven. It was all Severus could do to hold himself together until Albus appeared, as was his custom at quarter past seven. Usually the two had a peaceful fifteen minutes or so where no other teachers were there to interrupt them.

Today, however, Severus jumped up as soon as Albus took his seat. "Albus, I have to go. I have to go. Cancel my classes. All of them. I have to go."

He grabbed Harry's drawing and the mutt's letter and stormed off to his personal rooms. He didn't stop until he had thrown up as many wards as he could think of and then he sank into his chair, breathing hard. It was too much- this was too much. How on Earth was he supposed to respond to this? He couldn't go see Harry; he couldn't do anything to hurt that boy.

Enraged, he stood and began pacing around the room. He had to think- he had to figure out what exactly to say to Black, to Lupin, to Harry so that they would understand. He wasn't the type of man that Harry should ever look forward to seeing. Black was Harry's godfather- he had a responsibility to provide Harry a safe environment. A Death Eater, even a reformed one that now spied for the Light, was a danger to everyone.

He stomped into his bedroom and dropped to his desk, beginning to write out all of his arguments. He scribbled feverishly, trying and trying to explain. Black knew why he shouldn't be allowed near the boy, but obviously the Gryffindor wanted Severus to suffer and so he would. He would point out all of his many, many faults and then maybe Black would be satisfied.

Sirius calmly took a large gulp of chocolate, struggling to hide his yawn. "I can't believe he didn't come." He said disbelievingly, for what appeared to be the thousandth time to Remus.

"Padfoot, you had to know he wasn't likely to come. Especially when he knew Andy and Tonks were coming. Tonks is a student and he and Andy never got along." Remus said soothingly. "Despite what you think, Severus is not as self-assured as he acts. He's worried about being around Harry."

"Oh, he needs to get over it." Sirius scoffed. "You and James and I had that problem of about the first three months of Harry's life until Lily beat sense into us. She's not here to do the same to him, so I'm going to. This is ridiculous. That kid hasn't done anything all weekend but mope. What if Snape doesn't come back- what do I tell Harry? Sorry, but your idiot uncle decided he was going to ignore you for the next seven years so you aren't like him in any means whatsoever?"

Remus sighed, shaking his head. "I don't care how strong Severus's resolve is, he won't be able to stay away for long. We've just got to make him see sense."

"We need to beat some sense into him." Sirius said, glaring at his innocent mug of hot chocolate. "Maybe I should go now and challenge the stupid git to another duel."

"Don't be hasty, Sirius." Remus cautioned. "We have to make sure the Headmaster doesn't figure out what's going on- don't forget that. Severus is pretty much completely under his eyes. You know how much the Headmaster knows about what goes on in that school."

"I know Snape won't say anything about Harry, but I'm worried about what exactly Andy said to the Headmaster. You know how much she loves to gossip." Sirius admitted. "Tonksie won't say anything, but I can't say the same thing about her mother."

Remus laid a hand reassuringly on his friend's shoulder. "Even if she does gossip, she doesn't know the truth. She only knows him as Alec."

"Yeah, but Tonksie knows that Snape is connected to Alec as well. If Dumbledore were to get that bit of information, he could make connections we don't want him to make." Sirius said. His brow furrowed as he tried to make a plan. "We need to make sure he gets the wrong connections."

"Well, he knows that Severus took a boy named Alec shopping." Remus offered helpfully, recognizing his friend going into a plotting-mode. "That boy is supposedly his cousin Dmitri's youngest son from France. If your Tonksie tells Dumbledore what she knows, he would find another boy named Alec who might or might not be your child. From those, he could conclude that you two have the same child. What child could you two have that would unite you besides Harry? He has to know that Lily and Severus were still friends and he knows you and James were...so what other conclusion could he draw?"

"I don't know..." Sirius got up and paced around the room, thinking furiously. C'mon, Padfoot, think. Think. Think. "I got it." He said, his eyes lighting up. "Moony-it's perfect. I know what to do!"

Okay, Albus decided, perhaps he was going about this wrongly. Everyone was entitled to a day off, so Thursday had been fine. It was one of the few days Severus had ever taken off and if there really was a problem with his family, he was more than entitled. Severus was not one to come to someone else with his problems, so he needed time to wrap his mind around his particular problem. Albus just had to wait until the younger man had become comfortable enough with his decision to discuss it with Albus.

Therefore, Albus had felt justified on Thursday when he canceled all of the Potions classes. He hadn't had a problem until Friday afternoon, when Andromeda Tonks had come to pick up her daughter for the weekend. While parents had the right to take their children on the weekends, provided they had no detentions to serve, Albus couldn't help but fill a slight unease when his former student had confided that she was taking her daughter so that the girl could get reacquainted with her cousin, Sirius Black.

All Albus could think of was his 'what if?'. What if Sirius and Remus and Severus had stolen away Harry Potter? He could see Sirius inviting Andromeda over to make sure everything was suitable for Harry- no one but the Potters themselves had been more protective of that boy than Sirius Black.

But if that were the case, what had happened between Sirius and Severus? Had their temporary alliance been nulled? He didn't want to think that Sirius could be so harsh but the two boys had such a history Albus wouldn't have been too surprised.

Saturday and Sunday he passed in worry, but Monday he could no longer avoid the situation. He couldn't make a decision without knowing the truth and as Severus still didn't seem ready to speak, he had to take matters into his own hand.

He had learned his lessons from Severus well though. He knew how to act Slytherin and how to extract information from Slytherins. While Sirius might have shocked the school by going to Gryffindor, Albus had quickly realized just how many Slytherin tendencies the boy still had. He was raised in a Dark, predominantly Slytherin family and he had learned his lessons well, even if he had later rejected such teachings.

No, if he couldn't get answers from Severus, he would be likewise blocked by Sirius, unless he could make a specific claim. He would have to build up his information carefully.

It was time to visit Privet Drive.

Sorry, sorry, this has taken so long, I'm not exactly sure why, but I haven't been able to get into my account. That's not a full excuse- that only put me about a week and a half behind- but it's finals week and last week I was working on papers. Sorry, but here's the next part. I brought in Tonks! I don't know how much Andromeda will be in the story, but Tonks is going to be like Harry's big sister. I wanted Tonks in the story, but I didn't want to put her with Remus in this story, because of the ages. I wanted to set up the story here, with little subplots, b/c I'm still not sure how Severus will be reuniting with Harry. I think I finally figured it out though. I'm getting there, I promise. For now, enjoy the boys trying to outsmart Albus, who totally has their number. Any ideas, please let me know!

Minara.


	10. Mysterious Plottings

A quick A/N: It all gets more complicated here. Just go with the flow, as obviously none of this is anywhere near canon. Fair warning, read carefully, lol.

Chapter Ten—Mysterious Plottings

Monday after classes, Albus wasn't surprised to see both Minerva and Filius enter his office. "Good, good," he said, smiling. "I was going to call the two of you. Please, sit down. Lemon drops?"

Both Heads sat, declining the delicious treats.

"Albus, we're here to ask about Severus." Filius said, the small man unusually still. "We're worried, both for him and for our students. The OWLs and NEWTs are coming up and it isn't like Severus to miss so many classes."

"It isn't common for Severus to miss any classes." Minerva said bluntly. "Unless he's caught up in a potion and even then he leaves some sort of work for his students to do. This time he's left nothing. Is the ladd alright- has his latest fight with Black hurt him this much?" Her normally stern face softened. "I told that boy he was getting too old for his foolish lifestyle. Has Poppy been to see him?"

Albus smiled. Though some close-minded people still had their doubts about Severus and treated him as if he were a convicted criminal, he had never had a problem with the staff at Hogwarts. Though the boy often felt the need to hide from the outside world, he didn't _have _to hide at Hogwarts. Of course, he still did, but at least he knew they were there for him.

"Severus is not injured." He assured Minerva. "Sirius and Severus didn't actually get to fight."

"I saw them." Filius squeaked in surprise. "They were heading out to the Forest as usual. And then when Severus disappeared the first time..."

"The fight was interrupted when Severus got a message." Albus said gently. "He had to take in one of his cousins' sons for the next few days. The stubborn boy hasn't come to talk to me about anything yet, but I get the feeling there is something wrong in his family. If my suspicions are correct, that boy will be coming to live somewhere over here as opposed to France."

He thought for a moment, allowing himself a private smirk at the thought of Severus adopting James Potter's son. "As for the classes, Severus hasn't changed his syllabus since he started. Leave the seventh years to themselves and have the sixth years work with the fifth years with studying. I will ask Poppy to teach the lower years for the time being. They could all do with learning some Healing Potions."

"Very well, Albus." Filius said, standing. "So we shouldn't expect Severus for the next...week? Or two?"

"I think he ought to be freed up after this weekend." Albus said, fully intending to have a solution before the weekend.

"In that case, I should go talk to my Ravens and let them know." Filius said. "I shall see you later."

"Minerva, stay a moment, if you would." Albus requested, as the Scottish woman began to stand. "I would like to discuss something with you."

She waited until Filius was gone before she retook her seat. "I see that glint in your eyes, Albus. What are you up to?" She asked suspiciously.

"Minerva, those boys will persist in thinking they can hide secrets from me." Albus said vaguely. "I have to make sure they aren't up to anything too dangerous- we couldn't put young Alec in danger, now could we?"

"Well of course not." She said, huffing. "But I don't know that you're one to be nebbing about in their affairs. Perhaps the boys- wait a minute. What boys? Sirius and Severus or Severus and Alec?"

Albus grinned. "I'm not sure yet." He said vaguely. "I will be let you know as soon as I return, my dear, I promise." He said, standing and slipping on a cloak.

"You're leaving now?" She asked, wincing at the deep purple cloak thrown on top on bright green robes.

"Yes, I must make sure my Potions Master gets everything sorted out. As the boy is too stubborn to do so himself, I will do it for him. I shall also stop in at Sirius's and have a talk with that boy." Albus said, calmly reaching over to pet Fawkes as he flashed into view. "I will take care of those boys, Minerva. We owe them that much. Until later, my dear, please take care of the school in my absence."

Fawkes immediately flamed him to Privet Drive. A quick wave of his wand changed his delightful robes into a neat deep purple business suit and, after counting the cookie-cutter houses carefully, he headed towards the Dursley's home.

The door was opened before he could even knock and Petunia Dursley nee Evans hissed at him, "How dare you come here? Get in before anyone sees you."

Albus followed her orders and waited patiently while she slammed the door and locked it before pulling down the blinds on either side of the door. "Well?" She then demanded. "What do you want? To issue more threats?"

"Someone has threatened you?" Albus asked, looking around at the pictures in the hallway. The three Dursley's were shown over and over, but he saw none of Harry. How curious. "Did they give a name?"

"Do you often give names when threatening someone?" She sniped at him, but he ignored her harsh tones, watching her carefully. Her mind had drawn up pictures of the man threatening her even as she spoke and he knew immediately that he didn't recognize the man. He was almost positive he recognized the voice, but there was no doubt in his mind by the man's mannerisms: that was Severus Snape.

Albus smirked. Oh, those boys tried so hard, but there was a reason they didn't get away with anything. He ignored her question, stepping around her, and went to the cupboard. Surely he had misunderstood the conversation between Severus and Petunia.

But no, there was in fact a broken cot sitting inside the cupboard under the stairs, taking up nearly all the space. Several broken crayons and small toys were slightly scattered.

"He was right." Albus withdrew and turned back to Petunia. "The Dark Lord will return. The outcome will be on your own head. That child being here was the only thing keeping the wards up around your house and keeping your family safe. I will not enact new wards for you, you are welcome to your fate."

She had just enough time to gasp, her hands flying to her mouth in horror at the realizations before he raised his wand and chanted, "Obliviate."

He was gone before she recovered, as were the memories of both himself and the disguised Severus.

When Sirius first revealed his plan to Remus, the werewolf was ready to take his friend in to St. Mungo's and confess that Azkaban must have done something to his friend after all. The second time through the plan, Remus still had his suspicions. It took a third and then a fourth re-telling before the half-blood Remus could understand it.

When he first did understand, Remus could only shake his head. "So it's not just you that's crazy. It's your whole bloody family."

"It's all of us!" Sirius happily admitted. "But it'll work, Moony. I think. If Dmitri is the Snape that I think I remember, he won't have a problem with this at all. I just need to pop in and see Ben and then I'm off to France. I have to move fast, I'm sure Dumbledore will be demanding to know what I did to his git of a Potions Master pretty soon."

And sure enough, Monday evening, Sirius was interrupted from his musings when he felt the wards stopping someone from Apparating. "Prongs rides again with Lady Lily," Sirius murmured their password half-heartedly as he walked towards the front door. "And fifty Galleons says it's…Headmaster!" He opened the door, grinning at the wizened old man whose office he had spent so much time in during his Hogwarts years. "How are you?"

"Fine, fine." Albus said, grinning at the Marauder. "I would like to speak to you about Severus."

Luckily, Remus and Harry were still gone—bloody Ravenclaw-wannabes with their stupid books—so Sirius was moderately sure that he could pull his plan off.

"Good." He said, opening the odor and gesturing the Headmaster inside. "I want to talk to you about him too."

Albus entered curiously, eagerly anticipating the story that Sirius would no doubt try to feed him now. The boy was hidden from sight, whether intentionally or not, he didn't know, but at least the younger man wasn't taking risks with the boy's life.

They took seats in the den that Sirius had claimed as his own, as Moony routinely ran him out of the library and Sirius shot his opening gambit. He wasn't stupid- he knew that the Headmaster suspected something. But he wasn't a Marauder for nothing.

"Where the bloody hell is he?" Sirius asked. "Is that bat still hiding down in the dungeons?"

Alright, that actually surprised Albus. "Yes, he is down in the dungeons. He hasn't actually been out in several days and I am understandably getting upset. Would you care to explain what is going on? His erratic behavior began after he had left the castle with you. Presumably for another of your infamous duels."

"We weren't going to duel!" Sirius protested. A look the Headmaster gave him made him grin. "Okay, so maybe we were. Some people weren't made to be friends though, Professor. You have to accept that. But we were interrupted when we were summoned."

"You were summoned?" Albus asked, confused. "Who has that power over you?"

For a moment, both men were confused. Then Sirius figured it out. "Oh, I forget." He said. "Light Families probably don't grant their Matriarch or Patriarch the power to summon them. My Matriarch and Snape's Patriarch are twins, Professor, Salazar and Selene Snape. Selene married my grandfather, but upon his death, he made her Matriarch, as Black Family Law allows, considering he didn't trust either of his sons."

"Any member of your family may be summoned?" Albus asked, intrigued. If they could summon Bellatrix...

His momentary hope was quickly put out though. "No, sir." Sirius explained. "Only the Heir may be summoned. Although my mother and father took great pleasure in blasting me from their family tree, it was not actually the main family tree. For that, they would have had to go to Black Manor. Neither of them have been allowed access there, however, since they tried to kill my grandmother. For that attempt, she made me the Heir of the family. She doesn't live at Black Manor, but has retreated to Snape Manor, which I believe is in France. Salazar still resides there; he came back after his wife, who was a Malfoy, if I remember correctly, died. Snape- Severus, that is- is the Snape Heir, so Salazar can summon him.

"Salazar and Selene are both getting on in the years." Sirius went on after a moment. "They've both been responsible for the family businesses for so long and now they are getting ready to pass them on. It was never the practice of either family, apparently, to wait for the leader to die before the Heir takes over, as that's what they are attempting now. As soon as an Heir proves that he is worthy, he can take over. They've devised a test for us, to prove our worth and I am not doing it alone. So you just tell him to get his ass over here. I'm not doing it alone."

"Not doing what alone?" Dumbledore asked, hiding a grin. Oh, the boy was good. Mixing the truth together with what was sure to be a lie.

"I'm not raising Alec and Silas by myself." Sirius said calmly. "Apparently Snape thought that buying a set of clothes is enough, but it isn't. I've had the kids staying with me, since he's teaching and stuck at Hogwarts, but we're supposed to raising the two together. I thought it'd be great, you know, they could be like a brother for Harry, when I bring him to visit. But I don't want all the responsibility- I haven't had a date for years, Headmaster!"

"Alec? Silas?" Dumbledore asked.

"Alexander and Silas Snape." Sirius said. "Nice kids, they're my cousin Dmitri Snape's youngest children. The only ones not old enough to go away to school yet. Dmitri's a nice guy, but he's not the best father. He'd rather spend his time drinking rather than working and Salazar has been restricting his access to his family account, so the idiot's been using the money for his children to pay for his habits. He almost didn't have enough left to pay for his oldest son's Durmstrang tuition and Salazar finally stepped in. He paid the tuitions for Dmitri's four children in school and was only left with the youngest two- a set of twins, you see. He and Selene took a liking to the two and want to train them as the potential Heir of at least one of the families. Several Snape's have married Black's if they didn't go back to France, so either one would have a claim for the Black title and they both have a direct tie to the Snape family. No one in the generation above us in the Snape family will inherit, they've all been cast from the running one way or another"

"What about the boys' older siblings?" Dumbledore asked. "I thought Severus was the Heir because he was the oldest from his generation."

Sirius frowned. This was one part that puzzled him a bit too. "Well, in the past few years, Salazar and Selene have decided that their Families were going to turn to the Neutral, if not exactly the Light. Dmitri sent his children to Durmstrang, against Salazar's orders to send them to either Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, where some Snape females occasionally go so as not to leave the country, because of his wife's ties there and Salazar doesn't want them to be his Heir. He knows that most attending Durmstrang go bad. Especially with Karkaroff as Headmaster. He transferred Dmitri's daughters to Beauxbatons, as they are only twelve and thirteen, feeling there still might be some hope for them, but the Snape line is fully Patriarchal. One of them may end up as the Black Heir if Selene decides otherwise. So you see, Snape- Severus- has even more reason than I to raise the two. They're his only chances as his heirs, unless he plans to marry pretty soon. The two oldest boys are sixteen and seventeen, so Salazar is leaving them where they are, but refuses to consider them."

He shrugged, standing and beginning to pace the room. He made a few circuits, wondering vaguely where Moony and Harry were. Surely they couldn't still be at the bookstore?

"Why are they letting you and Severus raise the boys?" Dumbledore asked, after carefully considering the situation. Where was Harry? Was Alec real? Was Silas real? Was Harry with the Heads of the Snape and Black families?

"They feel they're too old to be running the families and chasing around after children." Sirius said, scoffing. Those two would never be old. They acted like teens. "As Severus and I have both broken our father's orders and turned to the Light, they want us to teach the boys the same...how'd they say it? The same 'strength of will' or some such. Although I've explained to them very patiently that I'm soon going to have my godson here as well- they didn't care. They thought that even better, as then the two will grow up with the Potter Heir.

"Now, I realize that Snape has to stay at Hogwarts to work, really I do. But he has weekends free, doesn't he? If he misses another one, I'm turning him in to Salazar. He's the one who actually knows the kids- I never even met him before. I met Dmitri's first two boys, Tomas and Rupert, but none of his younger children."

"Sirius, do you really think that you should be raising any child right now?" Albus asked. "That is one of the main concerns about you taking Harry in to your house. No one has been in Azkaban as long as you."

Sirius blushed a little at the mention of Harry, but was still firm in his answer. "I talked to Selene about that and she doesn't believe it will be a problem. She said something along the lines of 'if you haven't gone mad in the time spent with your mother and father, nothing else will ever be able to harm you'. She didn't like my father, never considered him as her Heir. He was a major disappointment to her, especially after he joined Voldemort. He was almost disowned completely when he married Mother. Besides, Remus is here. He'll make sure I don't do anything too dangerous to the kid. Lily would never have left Harry with me and James if not for Remus, even if James was Harry's father."

"I see." Albus said, thinking furiously. How much of this tale was truth? Were they actually going to try to pass Harry off as an Heir potential for one the two Darkest families in the Wizarding World? He'd have to think carefully. "Severus has been locked up in his rooms for days, with wards so powerful I am unable to break through. He has forbidden access to any House-elves and effectively kept me out. Do you have idea what he's doing?"

Yeah, Sirius thought sourly. Moping, mixed in with a good healthy dose of brooding the horror that was his life. The stupid git. Big baby.

"I'm sure he's trying to figure some way out of this. He initially seemed to hope he might get passed over entirely as Heir if he took in the children, but in the end I just don't think he wanted the responsibility. Me and Moony need some time off, even if we enjoy having the two rugrats around." Sirius lied through his teeth. How could they ever be sick of Harry? "If he doesn't show up soon, I'm going to drag him out of those dungeons. Do you want me to come take them down?"

He had no doubt that he could. Enough of the students in their year had passed both the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes OWLs with high enough scores to get a Warding class set up. He and Snape had been the best in class, competing ruthlessly for the last three years of school.

"If he does not emerge soon, I may do that." Albus had to admit that both of his former students were better at this particular magic than he was. They had been when they were still at Hogwarts. "Well, now that I know the situation, I shall be on my way. I hope to talk to you again soon, Sirius." He added, standing.

"About Harry?" Sirius asked, opening the door lead the Headmaster out.

His acting skills were superb, Dumbledore had to give him that. "Harry is safest where he is, Sirius." The older man said. "I cannot find any wards stronger than the blood wards he is living under now."

"Moony and I are still looking." Sirius said. "But he'd be so much happier here, Professor."

They came to the front door. "We shall see, my boy, we shall see." Dumbledore promised, slipping away.

"Liar." Sirius hissed half-heartedly, slamming the door. Why the Headmaster felt he needed to be in charge of everything, Sirius would never understand. Oh well. Now it was time for the real fun.

He quickly scribbled a note for Remus- _Really? This long at one bookstore? Stupid Ravenclaws_- and left it on the kitchen table. Moony would find it and hopefully Sirius would be back with the idiot Slytherin before Harry's bedtime.

A/N: In honor of the Steelers and their victory. I bleed Black and Gold, and so for putting up with that, here's your present. Sorry it's been so long, but my life continues to grow more complicated. The next update will be up by the end of the week- I promise.

Minara.


	11. Family Matters

A/N: Take two. Sorry, uploaded wrong chapter first time. Thanks to Laura Hisel for pointing it out! Anyways...onward.

Chapter Eleven—Family Matters

Severus had long since finished his explanation to the stupid mutt and was in fact brooding in front of his fireplace. What was he to do? How could he make a Gryffindor understand the complexity that was his life? Any Gryffindor would have trouble understanding, but the quintessential Gryffindor that was Sirius Black had absolutely no chance of understanding.

Surely Harry would understand sooner or later- right?

He had just picked up the letter- a six foot long monstrosity written erratically in his small handwriting- to take up to the Owlery when he suddenly blinked out of the room.

"Ah, Severus, my dear boy, how are you on this fine day?"

Severus cringed. He would have almost rather it had been his old 'Master' summoning him. With Voldemort he had a fair fifty-fifty percent chance leaving with his sanity intact. With his Patriarch, he had no chance. Salazar could give Dumbledore a run for his money.

Oh no. Selene was here too. He had heard rumours from his Uncle Nicolas that Selene and Salazar had recently been spending more time together. That was never good for anyone, especially since Old Man Black had seen fit to make her the Matriarch of the Black family before he escaped beyond the veil. Bloody bastard knew exactly what he was doing.

"My Lord Snape," Severus said, bowing deeply to his Patriarch. "Lady Black." He etched out a bow to his great-aunt, resisting the urge to run. "I am busy. Is there something the matter? Have you found a new Heir?" He asked hopefully.

Maybe this wasn't their latest mission to personally drive him crazy, as had seemed Salazar's life mission since he struck his four sons from the potential heirship and passed the coveted title onto Severus.

"No, my dear boy, don't be foolish." Salazar said, grinning down at the younger man. "You will be a wonderful heir to our great family. But I would talk with you for a moment. Your cousin has been to see me about you. I am not pleased, my Heir."

"Excellent." Severus said tiredly. "How have I displeased you this time and why is not enough to lose me the heirship? Dmitri's older than me, dammit, so you should make him suffer through this agony. All he did was get lost in the bottle a couple of...well, years. He wouldn't be that bad of an heir for you."

Severus was most displeased when the two elders glanced at each other, grinning widely. They began whispering between themselves, ignoring him, and so he looked around, trying to figure out where he had been summoned this time.

They were in a large room with marble floors and several doors in the far corner. Otherwise, the room was empty. There were no windows, but torches hung along the four walls, which were covered with... ah, Snape's of years gone by. They too were muttering amongst themselves and throwing disapproving glances at him.

Looking around, he was stuck again by the family characteristics. All of them, save for a few women that had married in to the family, had black hair. All wore it long, the women considerably longer. Most had dark eyes, so brown they were almost black, though a few here and there had blue eyes, showing their heritage from England. The men, almost without fail, ended up with the hooked nose.

Unfortunately, at times like these, Severus was forced to admit- only to himself, mind you- that the greasy hair he was so often plagued with was not hereditary, as he liked to claim, but a result of his potions. How could the very art he love be such a hassle?

A subtle cough brought his attention back to the elders. They were seated on the only furniture in the room, two elaborate chairs that might have been thrones in older days, which were placed behind a large golden table that was set up on a raised platform with three steps leading up to it. If they were trying to intimidate him- which they most likely were- they had a good set up.

Luckily for him, along with the nose, Severus had the impeccable length attributed to the Snape's. He was one of the shortest of his generation of cousins and he stood 6'2. He crossed his arms and glared his mightiest glare- refined with years of practice- up at his relatives.

"Yes? Are we done plotting now?" He asked.

"Severus, I really do not know how you came to be so paranoid." Selene said, her gentle tone not matching up with the evil glint in her deep blue eyes. "We only have your best intentions in mind. Which is why we called you here today."

"Yes, yes, I know. _I'm_ the paranoid one in this room." Severus rolled his eyes. "Which cousin spoke against me this time?"

Sirius finally moved forward, from his spot leaning against one of the side walls. "Uh, that would be me. Wotcher, cuz?"

"Oh bugger." Severus moaned. "What complaint have you against me? I didn't say anything to your darling Nymphadora, so leave me alone."

Sirius grinned. "Firstly, she'll kill you if she finds out you called her that. Secondly," his grin faded. "I know. You're good at not saying anything to children when it suits you, aren't you? You don't give a damn that Harry is hurt beyond all belief at you ignoring him. I've never seen a kid cry so hard."

He was close enough now, as he had been making his way towards the platform, to punch Severus. He did so, feeling a rush of satisfaction as his fist connected with Severus's jaw. With a grunt of pain, Severus fell to the ground. "Ouch." Sirius immediately grabbed one hand in the other, wincing. "That hurt."

"No bloody kidding." Severus said, shaking his head to try to clear his mind and climbing nimbly back to his feet.

"Really, Sirius." His Grandmother scolded him. "Brawling like a common Muggle. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Sirius grinned cheekily. "Haven't you heard? I'm mentally unbalanced now because of my stay in Azkaban. If my antics haven't driven you to find a new Heir by now, I would assume one little punch isn't going to change anything."

"What is with the two of you?" Salazar asked, half in amusement and half in frustration. "You are being offered the opportunity to head two of the most prestigious Houses in the Wizarding World and you are constantly trying to find a way out of it."

Sirius and Severus shot a look at each other before subtly moving away from each other. Dammit, there was one more thing they had in common.

"So, I've been called here because of your Godson?" Severus asked his cousin wearily. "I've explained this to you already. As a matter of fact, I've now written it," he said, looking down at the scroll that was now in his hands. Well, he wouldn't have to waste an owl now. "Here." He tossed the scroll now to gently at the other man. "Now your werewolf can read it to you and explain all the big words."

Sirius grinned brightly at Severus before taking out his wand. "_Incendio!"_ He exclaimed, pointing his wand at the parchment. At once, it burst into flame. "I'm not interested in your excuses," he said, ignoring the other man's gasp. "And no, we're not here technically because of Harry. He is a condition of the reason you are here."

"No." Severus said at once. "My Lord," he did not fail to try to get his grandfather on his side. "There was no agreement made on our part. I agreed to help the mutt get the boy safely away from his abusive Muggle relatives. That was it. I cannot help it that the boy's mother was so foolish as to allow him to grow attached to me or that the mutt and the werewolf cannot see how dangerous it is to have _me_ interacting with a child."

"My Lady, that is not so." Sirius turned smugly to his Matriarch. "But that is not the point I am arguing. My cousin and I made a verbal agreement which he is now refusing to honor. He agreed to teach me to brew the Wolfsbane Potion in request for my helping him enchant a motorcycle. He is not allowing me to fulfill my part of the bargain and he is endangering my best friend and now my godson because none of us are currently able to brew the potion that Remus requires once a month. I call upon family rights and ask that you make him fulfill the agreement."

Selene and Salazar shared another grin. These two had to the Heirs, for when they finally got tired of sniping at each other and began working together, they would be able to manipulate anyone in the whole Wizarding World. It would be perfect.

Still...no reason to let them be complacent.

"And what exactly does your godson have to do with this, Mr. Black?" Salazar asked.

"This agreement was made ever so discreetly so that the two of us would be able to make sure Harry stayed safe." Sirius said. "I'm not stupid- I know why Severus came with me to get Harry. He knows he owes Lily and he knows deep down that sooner or later he's going to check up on the boy to make sure Remus and I haven't turned him completely Gryffindor- which we will do, given the opportunity. Neither of us came out and said it, no, but come on. Wolfsbane takes years to master, and is usually only attempted when two Potions Masters are working together. Severus is the only known Potions Master in the world who attempts in alone. I'm not even a full Master- it's going to take me a decade to learn it. Likewise, when we had a full team working on my motorcycle, it still took us several years. Now we are working with less people and less overall knowledge. Sevvy wasn't getting his bike anytime soon."

He nodded, happy with his logical argument and then glared at Severus. "And Harry misses him, dammit. He's the only one who can calm the boy at night- he has nightmares every night. He agreed to come every weekend to see the boy and I know Harry can't make binding agreements until the age of thirteen as the legal Head of Potter now, but I am his godfather and am acting in his stead. Severus has to come see him before the child stops sleeping entirely."

"That's a shaky argument there, grandson." Selene said. "Though I am curious- Sirius, what do you make of Severus's claims? What do you know of Severus, really? I know the two of you have been declared enemies since the tender age of eleven, but how much do you really know about his life after graduation?"

"He's being a big git." Sirius said. "Do you think James and Remus and I weren't scared the first time Lily actually let us watch Harry by ourselves? First we didn't put him down, we just held him until he started crying. And then once we figured out he wanted a nap, he disappeared. He was missing for four hours because he had summoned James' invisibility cloak and was hiding under it! If Lily had found out, we would've been dead- all of us! But we got used to it. He could too."

He grinned at the horrified look on Severus' face after that anecdote. "As for his claims, he's no worse than the rest of us. Remus is a _werewolf_. He's registered at the ministry- like an animal. He's a Dark Creature- just last week, after the full moon, some idiots thought they could come out and throw rocks at the Manor. He's dealt with suspicion his whole life. I just got out of Azkaban- everyone thinks I'm addled now, even before it came out that I decided to live with a werewolf. They didn't even want to let me see Harry because I was supposed to be so dangerous. He was a Death Eater- I know that. I also know that Dumbledore trusts him. And I trust Dumbledore. Dumbledore wouldn't have vouched for him- he wouldn't be anywhere near classrooms full of school children if the Headmaster thought there was even a chance that he was dangerous. I do know that he favors the Slytherins and he's not the nicest teacher in the world, but hey, McGonagall always sort of favored us, the same way Flitwick and the others favored their houses. Slughorn was an idiot- only currying favor. I suppose if there was ever a decent Slytherin teacher, they would favor their house, but in true Slytherin style they'd be a bit more aggressive about it."

"That is a very good dissertation there, my boy." Salazar nodded approvingly. "I suppose that's evidence enough that Azkaban hasn't caused any major problems. And Remus Lupin spent a few years over here- a few branches of his family stayed in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. He comes from a good pureblood family and I've met the man that he's grown up to be. A kind, brilliant scholar of a man who needs to leave England, truth be told, but I suppose it's expected of Light families to be so loyal. If he stayed over here, he wouldn't have half the problems- the French ministry is much more open-minded and accepting about werewolves. But Severus...Sirius, my boy, there are things you don't know about Severus."

Salazar looked to his Heir, asking permission. He knew everything about Severus's life, up to his true allegiances, but would not betray such secrets unless given permission.

"Oh, go ahead." Severus said, crossing his arms. "Maybe then he'll understand why I should not be let near the boy."

"Severus left Voldemort because he didn't actually believe in Voldemort's stances. He was more or less...coerced, we shall say, by my dear son- his father- to join. Tobias proudly lived and died for that cretin who calls himself a Lord. I don't know what his true story is- I've not bothered to search for it, myself- but if he were a true pureblood he wouldn't have changed his name. Voldemort is certainly not a pureblood surname. And yes, Severus did befriend a Muggle-born, little Lily Evans. So he was sympathetic with Dumbledore's cause."

"You don't _leave_ the Dark Lord's service. That's what killed Regulus, from what I've been able to gather. He had an attack on conscience, much too late." Sirius said, shaking his head. Stupid boy...

Selene and Salazar both were visibly struck by that, both turning, Sirius noted keenly even through his momentary pain, to Severus, who neatly averted his gaze.

"Hum, yes, well..." Salazar stumbled for a moment. "That is true...not many leave alive. Severus, in true cunning Slytherin fashion, devised a scheme to turn spy for Dumbledore. A role he still plays to this day. Sirius, I hope you are not so foolish as to think the Dark Lord is really vanquished. He spent decades after his graduation from Hogwarts researching ancient rituals- I'm sure he found one to circumvent his untimely demise."

"Dumbledore agrees." Sirius said, thinking back to one of his conversations after his release with Dumbledore. "Harry has to kill him. The Prophecy demands it."

"You know the Prophecy?" Severus said, surprised.

"Of course, James told me as soon as he was given it." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"Of course." Severus mocked. "Do you see now, you stupid Gryffindor? When the Dark Lord arises, I must go back to his side, to do my part in Dumbledore's fight. In Harry's fight. When Harry comes to Hogwarts, unless by some odd manifestation he is a Slytherin and we manage to explain why the Boy-Who-Lived went dark, I cannot favor him. Ever. It will cost me my position and most likely my life. Spies don't have long life spans- do you really want Harry to get close to me only for me to die?"

Sirius looked at the other man for a moment and then slowly shook his head. "You are so lucky that Lily can't come back and hex the hell out of you. That is the stupidest excuse I have ever heard. What's that Muggle phrase she always bandied around- it's better to love than to lose, or something like that. Enjoy the time you have with him. He's got a few years until he's at Hogwarts, in case you haven't noticed. And, dammit, where's all this 'cunning' at now? Figure something out. He won't be happy going to Hogwarts as Harry Potter- I can see that already. He's nothing like James- he's much more like Lily. He can blend in to the background... All that fame isn't for him. I think Dumbledore's on to us already, so when he catches us in a few years, we'll talk to him about it. We'll make him see things our way and send Harry to Hogwarts under an assumed name."

He darted a look up at the beaming Heads of the two families. "In fact, I've already started working on that part. So just agree that you're an utter git with no redeeming qualities and we can get back to plotting." Satisfied, he crossed his arms, mocking Severus's position.

Severus was lost in thought, however, and missed the intended slight. _It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all._ Lily had particularly favored that quote, but Severus had always had a hard time believing it. Why love at all if you were going to end up in pain? It was a ridiculous idea that could only have been thought up by Muggles. And this whole situation had pain written all over it. There was no way this could end well at all.

Lily couldn't hex him, but he had been thinking about that over the last few days as well. He didn't know much about ghosts but did think that if he blathered on about this decision much longer she would definitely be coming back to haunt him. And horror of all horrors, she might bring Potter back with her. Black finally knew the actual reason that Severus was hesitant and had surprisingly offered up a very amusing alternative. If they hid Harry's identity...oh the chaos that would ensue when the Boy-Who-Lived failed to show up at Hogwarts.

Of course, that plan substantially depended on Dumbledore's agreement. Which, between Black and himself, they could easily secure. Besides them, only James Potter had ever managed to talk the Headmaster out of more detentions. And Remus Lupin was no slouch either, easily using his chalky appearance and innocent-bookworm routine to full benefits.

They all knew the dangers going in...

"Aw, hell." Severus said rolling his eyes. "I cannot in good conscience stand by and let you corrupt that boy into a Gryffindor existence."

To everyone's shock, Sirius whooped with laughter, picking Severus up and swinging him around. "I knew that one would get you, Snape." He exclaimed, laughing again.

"Put me down, mutt." Severus snapped, grabbing his wand. "Merlin forbid I get fleas."

Seeing the wand, Sirius quickly retreated, though nothing could dim his smile. "I knew you'd come around." He said happily. "This is going to be great. I already started the first part of the plan and we'll work everything else out as we go on. It goes like this..."

Sirius quickly explained the story he had fed the Headmaster and what he and the Matriach and Patriarch had talked about.

"Wait." Severus finally held up a plan. "So you not only want us to pass Harry Potter off as a Snape, you want us to actually take in a Snape child and raise it as our ward."

"You did already tell quite a few people in Diagon Alley that you had Alec." Selene pointed out, grinning. "We created Silas, Alec's twin brother, but there is still Alec."

"Severus, I do hope you were joking. Dmitri almost ruined his children's futures because of his drinking habits. I cannot in good conscience let him ruin another Snape child. Who knows how much work we'll have to do with the other four." Salazar said. "Do us this favor and we will support all of your claims. After five years of raising any child, you are given rights to that child, even if you obtained him illegally. We, as your Heads of House, will support you if you run into trouble when you present this plan to Albus Dumbledore when the boys turn ten. Until then, keep him guessing. And, if you do a decent enough job raising Alec, if you can prove he will be a more useful Heir than you, I will take him as my Heir."

"And not to leave you out, Sirius," Selene spoke up. "I have been speaking to Andromeda, your cousin. As her father was your grandfather's Heir for a few years, he did actually have the power to cast her out of the family. I am currently invoking the rituals to right that wrong and will accept young Nymphadora as my Heir in payment for your raising this child. An Auror will make a perfect Heir for our Family."

Sirius's grin, if possible, grew wider. "That's great. C'mon Snape, you have to agree to this."

The main door opened and a small black blur ran into the room followed by a man that Severus recognized very easily. "Sebastian! Have you been listening in?" He teased.

"Of course, Sevvy." The younger man, Severus's younger brother by six years, pulled his brother into a hug. "I'm ever so pleased you'll finally have a replacement. This kid will keep you on your toes."

As he released his brother, Severus realized the small blur had come to a stop in front of him. It was a small boy, dressed in all black, with his robes hanging open and his black hair hanging all the way down his back. "Alec, I presume?"

"H'lo." The boy said, his eyes the same dark brown that Severus's were. He smiled at Severus and then took off, quickly climbing the platform to come to a stop between the two elders.

"Sirius Black, this is my younger brother, Sebastian Prince." Severus introduced, seeing Sirius and Sebastian warily eying each other. "He's my half-brother, as my mother chose her second husband infinitely better. He's heir to the Prince line, so I thankfully have no issues there. Bast- what are you doing here?"

"He comes to visit his elderly relatives every once in a while." Salazar sniffed, acting put-upon. "He doesn't pretend we don't exist and only come when summoned."

"But only because you can't summon him." Severus muttered under his breath. He reached out and smacked his brother. "Why do you always have to make me look bad?"

Sebastian danced away from his brother, grinning. "Because it's so easy." He put on a polite air, extending his hand to Sirius. "Hello. We've never had the pleasure of meeting. We're cousins as well, though a bit further off. Princes and Blacks have always had a good alliance. It is delightful to make your acquaintance."

"Hi." Sirius said, numbly taking the hand. Minus the Snape nose, the permanently greased hair and with green eyes, the man was a dead ringer for the Snape Sirius had fought his whole life. Also, in the years that Sirius had known Severus, he'd never seen the other man hug anyone- not even Lily.

"Pleasure." Severus scoffed. "Luckily you went to Beauxbatons."

Sebastian grinned. "Ah, this is Marauder you hated so. Well, it will do you good to work together. You two and Alec will have lots of fun together. I must be going. I just came to deliver the good news- Ava is pregnant again, Sev. My third boy. Is that not wonderful?"

A beaming smile and he Apparated away.

"Merlin save me. Mother will love that." Severus muttered. "Well, I suppose a Ward may keep her off my back for another year."

"Excellent, he agreed." Sirius said. "That's a binding agreement- he can't take it back." He rattled off quickly to his Matriarch.

"I forgot the Black love of legalities." Salazar said, rolling his eyes. "Well, young Alec." He said, turning to his great-grandson. "These are your Uncles. Uncle Sirius and Uncle Severus."

"Dey're going to raise me?" The small boy said, his tone doubtful.

"Yes, dear." Selene said, "And they'll have a young boy for you to play with- just like another brother for you."

The small boy considered this, sticking a finger in his mouth. "M'brothers never played wif me. They said I was too li'l."

"Well, boyo, you're not too little now." Sirius said, grinning up at the boy. "The other boy- his name is Silas- is smaller than you! You'll have to be his big brother."

"I big brother?" The boy seemed to like that idea. "I big!"

"Yes you are, a strong big lad, I can see it already." Sirius said. "Well, if that's everything, Grandmother, Lord Snape, I suppose we had best be off. It's getting late back home. Come here, Alec." He added, opening his arms to the boy.

The boy glanced between Sirius and Severus and slowly come down the platform to stand by Severus. "Up?" He asked, extending his arms to Severus.

Smirking at the pouting Black, Severus gathered the boy into his arms. "I guess that was an easy decision." Severus teased. "Until the next torture session, I bid you adieu. Black, let's go."

With a final bow, they Apparated away as well, with Severus following Sirius's magical trail, holding tight to the boy in his arms. They slowed at one point, until Sirius released the magic necessary to allow them all access and then were suddenly standing in a parlor of Marauder Manor.

They headed to the kitchen, where Sirius realized his note was untouched. "Those bloody Ravenclaws!"

* * *

A/N: Just some random questions...Do you think that Harry would be angry at Severus for not coming to see him when he promised or just so happy that he doesn't think about it? Also, how do you think Harry and Alec should interact?


	12. Reconciliations with the Family

Chapter Twelve-Reconciliations within the Family

It was well after sunset when Remus and Harry finally came back through the floo. The main floo was in the library, which was where Sirius had been holed up since he returned home. Though the young boy seemed to get along with him okay, he had elected to stay with Severus, who had immediately retreated to the room Sirius had prepared for him.

Sirius bounced to his feet just in time to steady his godson and pull him out Remus's arms, brushing away his thoughts as to their plan. "Where have you been? Don't we have enough books?"

Remus and Harry looked at each other and answered as one, "No," before both laughing.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, it's getting late, little one." He said instead. "Why don't you go get on pajamas?"

At once, Harry's face morphed into sadness. "I'm not tired, Uncle Paddy." He said, looking up pleadingly. "Can I stay wif you?"

"No, Harry, you can't." Sirius hated to turn down such a pleading look, but forced himself to. "I have a surprise for you, but you have to be in your jammies to get it. Go on now."

As with most children, Harry couldn't resist the offer of a surprise. "Okay." He said, smiling half-heartedly. "I will go."

He took off out of the room and Remus gripped his friend by the shoulders. "You got him to come back?" The werewolf asked, unbelieving.

Sirius raised his chin snobbily. "Why, Moony, that you even have to ask hurts."

"Git." Remus said, grinning. "And is the other young boy here?"

The two started walking out of the library and towards the guest room Severus had been put up in. "For some reason, he hasn't left Snape's side yet. I guess he just doesn't like me yet." Sirius said, pouting.

"He doesn't know you yet, Padfoot." Remus pointed out helpfully.

"But he doesn't know Snape either!" Sirius protested. "We met him at the same time."

"Yes, but I am just about identical to his father." Severus said, as he opened his door. "You look nothing like Dmitri. Your eyes are the wrong color, your hair isn't long enough and you bounce around too much."

"I do not!" Sirius said, offended.

"Yes you do." Severus said, rolling his eyes. "Now be quiet, the boy is asleep. The werewolf can meet the real Alec tomorrow."

"That's fine." Remus said, even though with his heightened hearing he could tell that the boy had just woken up. Obviously their voices had woken him, but if he wasn't going to speak up, he was obviously still nervous. Better to let him get a good night's sleep and then meet everyone tomorrow. "But come on. You've another boy who has been waiting of you to tuck him in for a very long time."

Severus nodded. Surprising Remus again with his heightened sense of awareness, Severus turned back into the room and said, "Go on back to sleep, Alec. I shall be back momentarily. You may meet Silas in the morning, it is his bedtime as well."

The three men waited for a moment and heard a small voice say, "Okay, Uncle. Night-night."

"Good-night." Severus said. That accomplished, he walked out of the room towards Harry's. "Are you going to raise the boys together or give them separate rooms?" He asked.

Sirius and Remus were both right behind him, keeping up to his fast strides with no problems. "We hadn't decided." Remus answered. "We both know that pure-blood siblings are all usually given their own rooms, but we had sort of hoped the two would be closer than that. But if the two end up not liking each other, they shall have separate rooms."

Severus nodded, but didn't offer an opinion, as they had reached Harry's room. "Shall I go in alone?" He asked instead.

The Marauders quickly glanced at each other. Both had found themselves on the receiving end of little Harry's anger over the week and had no interest in seeing it again. "You go on." Sirius said. "Just give me one second."

He opened the door slightly, happy to see his godson lying in bed, the covers pulled up over his blue dragon pajamas, though he was still propped up on pillows. "Hey there, Harry." He said. "I'm going to send your surprise in now. Moony and I will be by later to tuck you in."

The boy nodded and Sirius ducked back out only to find Severus shaking his head. "What?"

"Who gives their godson a Death Eater as a surprise?" Severus asked. "I always knew you were odd, Black, but this really takes it."

"Oh, you're about as dangerous as I am. No more, no less." Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Get in there. We'll be in the kitchen when you're done."

Severus waited a few minutes until he was sure the Marauders were out of sight. He didn't know how much of Lily's temper the boy had gotten, but from the looks the two Gryffindors were sharing, he was probably in for it.

He took a deep breath and went in, closing the door quickly behind them. No need to provide a show for the two men. It was bad enough they knew it was going to happen.

A sharp gasp brought his attention back to the present and he quickly sought out Lily's son.

The boy was propped up against several pillows, already under the covers, staring at Severus with wide eyes. "Uncle Sevie?" The small child whispered, struck with awe. "You came back!"

With that, he jumped up and came running to Severus. A flying leap later, he was wrapped securely in his uncle's arms, resting his head against the man's strong chest. "I'm sorry." The little boy said, not looking at his uncle. He just held on tight, never wanting to release the man. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Harry James." Severus said, trying unsuccessfully to loosen the boy's grip. "I am the one who is sorry. Can you- can you look for a moment?" He asked, sitting on the bed and lightly patting the boy's bottom. "Now."

At the tap, Harry looked up. "You're sorry?" He said, cocking his head to one side slightly. "Why?"

"Harry, Remus and Sirius have told me that my not coming back has upset you." Severus said, looking the boy in the eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Harry, I really didn't. I wanted to keep you safe. But, as it has been pointed out, I wasn't doing it the right way."

The boy looked slightly confused still, so Severus just hugged him. "I thought you'd be have more fun with just...Moony and Paddy." He said to the boy. "I'm not much fun."

"You're my favorite uncle." The boy said, hugging Severus as tightly as his little arms could manage. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Severus could admit to the boy who had instantly captured his heart the very first time he saw him.

Harry held his uncle tight for a moment longer before pulling back, eyes narrowing. "Why didn't you come back? You _promised_. When not with your stu- stu- your kids, you said you'd come to play." The boy said, pouting. "You lied." He concluded, crossing his arms.

There was a glint in Harry's eye that reminded Severus uncomfortably of Lily, right before her anger peaked and sent everyone running in the opposite direction. Severus knew what that meant- he had to placate the boy soon or there would be hell to pay. The man could only be thankful that more of Lily's Ravenclaw tendencies had overridden the tainted Gryffindor blood riding through the boy, so at least he was still waiting for an explanation.

But how to explain the situation so that a young child could understand? Severus didn't really know.

"I got scared, Harry." He said, wandlessly adding a silencing charm on the door. If Black ever heard any of this, Severus could never let him live. "I know your Mummy is counting on me now and I don't want to do a bad job with you."

"But Mummy loves you." Harry said, biting his lip as he tried to work out the complicated grown-up talk.

"I know she does Harry." Severus said, brutally Occluding the pain the thought brought up. Oh Lily... "But your Mummy loved you more than anyone else in the world. If I raised you to be bad, she would be unhappy with me."

"I'm good boy." Harry said earnestly. "Not bad! You're a good uncle!"

The conversation was getting embarrassingly mushy and Severus refused to have it any longer. Time to do what he did best- redirect the conversation. "And you're a good little boy. So much that your Uncle Paddy and Moony and I have got another surprise for you tomorrow."

"Really?" Harry said, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "A book?"

Severus held back a laugh, mentally moaning. The boy was definitely not Gryffindor material, but there still might be hope for Slytherin. "No, not a book." He said, grinning. "Something better."

The second implication of his uncle's words hit Harry as Severus began putting him back under his covers. "You will be here in tomorrow? You will stay here?"

"Yes." Severus said, pulling the boy's covers up and smiling. "I'll be here tomorrow."

"Good." The boy said happily.

Severus kissed the boy's forehead, before standing. "Well, I had better go get your other uncles to say goodnight."

"No!" Harry quickly grabbed Severus's arm and held on. "Will you stay? Stay with me?"

The boy looked worried, holding on tightly to Severus's hand. Obviously he had really hurt the boy and a simple apology wasn't enough.

He would gain back the boy's trust. If losing sleep was all it took, he'd do so gladly. He said back down, smoothing out the covers again. "Very well. I shall sit with you until you sleep. Close your eyes."

It didn't take more than ten minutes for the boy to fall asleep. Severus sat there in silence, holding the boy's hand, even after the child had fallen asleep. Harry looked adorable in sleep, something that had not changed in the time since he was a baby.

Lily would have been so angry with him, for trying to leave her baby. Severus knew that, accepted it and winced at the thought. The next time he saw her he was in so much trouble...

But he would make it up to her, in the only way he knew how. He would make sure that boy wasn't a dyed in the wool Gryffindor. He would be rational and cool, not blundering his way through life. "I promise, Lily. I promise." Severus murmured, thinking fondly back to his friend.

Though she was beautiful, he could freely admit that, she had never interested him in that manner. He had never wanted her to, had refused to think about it. Having her as a girlfriend might have destroyed the one real friendship he had ever managed to obtain. Much better just to be her friend.

Even, he admitted wryly, if he had become her sounding board for one James Potter. Lily had finally come to the conclusion that she liked James in about their fifth year, but had refused to tell him so soon because of his more annoying Gryffindor tendencies.

Harry would not have that problem, Severus would see to it. He now had Alec to balance him out, as no Snape would ever be a Gryffindor. Together with Lupin and the boy's already bewildering love of books, Severus would have no problems producing a Ravenclaw. A bit more conniving might just produce a Slytherin.

He quickly left the room, heading for the kitchen where the other two men were. "Is Harry asleep?" Remus asked, even as he pushed a cup of tea towards the Slytherin.

"Yeah, he is." Severus said, taking a sip. "I told him we have a surprise for him for tomorrow. Do either of you know how he'll react to another child?"

"I don't know." Remus admitted. "From the little we can gather, his relationship with his cousin wasn't much better than the one with his uncle. Probably worse in some ways, as the other boy was encouraged to hit Harry on a regular basis."

"Alec isn't much bigger than Harry, though." Sirius pointed out. "And Alec seems genuinely happy to have a playmate, so perhaps it will work out."

"We shall see." Severus allowed. "Have you explained anything to Harry? What about the fact that you would like him to take a new name?"

The guilty look on Sirius's face answered even before he did. "Not exactly..." He confessed. "But I don't think it will be much of a problem. At least, I don't think so. I never got where 'Harry' came from anyways, so it isn't like he's losing a sentimental attachment or anything. And it'll be one further thing that separates him from those damn Dursley's." He concluded, brightening at his logic. He stuck his tongue out at Remus. "See Moony, you're not the only intelligent one here."

"You're right." Moony allowed. When Sirius brightened, Remus smirked. "Severus is here too. I don't think he's ever been accused of being less than bright."

"Aw..." Sirius pouted, even though he couldn't deny that. "Stupid Ravenclaw misfits, the both of you. I'm going to see my godson."

Severus smirked, not unpleasantly. "Yet another Raven who is much smarter than yourself." He said, sipping his tea to hide his smile.

Sirius stuck his tongue out at Snape too. "Quiet, cousin. You're just mean."

A/N: Sorry, sorry, just got back from Boston. I couldn't take my computer, so I couldn't get this out. This is a small chapter, just a transition. Next chapter Alec will meet Harry and possibly Tonks. Any suggestions, ideas, please let me know.


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